"Oh, that... my... oh." Naiad places both hands on their ankle and foot for a brief moment, almost as if adjusting invisible laces to repeat the same process and then glances downwards at the 'Cthulhu' forming.
Salt? Why salt? Salt dehydrates? Salt's... Okay...
The image forms in their mind of a foot-thick wall of salt, formed from seawater that suddenly evaporates to leave it in place. Whether or not that actually works is a whole other matter...
Brought back to consciousness by the transformation May barely has time to register what all had happened, she sees Sora has returned or maybe she had gone to her but either way they were in the same area.
She tries to stand and make her way over to Sora in an attempt to get her to flee.
There is a fantastic burst of random arcane energy, and everyone feels the bottom fall out from their stomachs. The Nightmare blurs and shifts until, much like the transition from broken down mall to extravagant gilded hallway, the group is deposited on a moonlit beach. Your relative positions are the same, but you are now all standing on the shore of the ocean.
There is a narrow shoal between most of you and a low mound of sand where the roiling mass of flesh continues to strain against the threads that contain it. The Sakuras and Tenshi are in about a foot of salty water, but the rest of you are on shore.
A thin crust of sea salt lines both the shore and the perimeter of the mound where the beast lays. The Youma's spell hangs in the air for a few brief moments before dissipating.
Tenshi pinches herself and then frowns. "Not what I meant. But... it's working, I guess." she says, looking over the scene as a whole. "In my dream... salt was used to hold something... or keep something out. I'm still not sure." she explains, still coughing up small flecks of black... and then retreating as Chell requests she does so. She feels decidedly vulnerable right now.
Tiresias blinked as it all happened so fast. First the creature and its sudden change, then the tentacles and the girl that came with them. At this point Tiresias was panicking.
One of the untransformed girls was gasping for air as the room was filled with vacuum. Filled? Maybe the correct expression is emptied with vacuum. Tiresias snapped back to reality, she needed to help the girl! She wouldn’t survive for very long.
Then there was something about salt, a bright flash and here they were. In a beach… on the Bahamas? How? How did she even know that?
The slow rhythm of the sea on the shore almost felt like a cruel joke, like someone was making fun of their situation by dropping all the serenity of the sea next to the pulsating mass of the monster. Tiresias calmed a bit, the sound of running water was helping her in that regard at least. In this place there was air so the girl was no longer in danger but everyone was so tired. They couldn’t hope to defeat that thing if the fight continued for much longer.
If only she knew more about it. About what it could do? Where it would strike next? Who it would target? If she knew more she could plan for it, strategize but like this she was blind. Her left hand fell slowly towards her hip in a sign of impotence. She felt the soothing warmth of her book and she caressed it with her hand. Could she know more?
I wish I could know more. I wish I could answer all these questions. I wish I could plan ahead for what’s to come.
She grabbed the familiar shape of the book without even noticing and a small flow of magic passed to it, Tiresias felt that flow and for a moment cursed herself. She was already tired, did she even have the power to take advantage of it? Well nothing she could do about it now.
I just hope I won’t need it later…
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「Ah... thank you for that, that feels much better. Lying on the floor bemoaning the situation did not suit me much at all.」Juno begins working her arm to ensure it functions as it should, but does not get much time to do so before yet another change in scenery.
The beach feels warm and tranquil with the exception of the eldritch abomination lying nearby. 「Is it dead? It does not appear to be moving.」 Juno realizes as she says it that she likely just guaranteed the monster's survival. Oops.
Naiad grimaced as they felt the power pour through their body, and then their mouth opened in a rictus of not-pain as energies of which even the barest trickle could 'jump-start' healing processes streamed out of them in a torrent as time and space and dream and real all blended together in one gut-wrenching moment...
It's *glarg* like heavy seas on the Pioneer. I think I'm going to...
...and then reality of some sort reasserts itself, and the topsy-turvy gastrointestinal roller-coaster calms down somewhat.
What just happened? 「Is everyone still alive? I'm sorry, I have no idea what happened there...」
Their eyes appraise the creature... and the surroundings, trying to get some sort of bearing.
That wasn't what I'd intended, if that was me...
The mass continues to swell in arrhythmic pulses. It no longer resembles anything remotely humanoid.
The book rises from Tiresias' belt and opens. Pages turn like beams of light as the cosmos is searched for elucidating truths.
Barley: You find yourself strolling along a lonely beach on a beautiful morning in the Bahamas. A few yards away, standing in a loose cluster, there seems to be some kind of cosplay convention. A number of teenage girls in various colorful outfits stand at the edge of the water, staring at a what appears to be a beached whale.
Chrysanth jumps as the beast's form ruptures to reveal another girl, glancing about the assemblage in confusion at the mention of salt. She gives yet another start as the scenery changes to that of a tropical beach under a starry night's sky. 「I-I'm alive, b-but what happened?」
Tiresias observes the quick patterns of the turning pages as knowledge pour forth into her mind. After a few seconds she looks forward, a resolute look on her as she walks towards the other girls near the monster.
「I believe we are all still alive. Who brought us here? Was it any of you?」
Tiresias asks trying to obtain the attention of everyone nearby. Her eyes then fall on the creature.
「I'm afraid there is nothing we can do for it right now. I'm also afraid that, even together, we cannot hope to destroy it. Because of that I ask that if it was one of you that brought us here...」
She breaths deeply, spirit can be converted into magic, does that mean we are giving up our spirit to do this? Should she ask for help in this way without knowing all the consequences of this?
This creature is far too dangerous even in a remote location like this. I must.
Her hands tighten as she raises her voice again.
「We must banish it from our planet. Whoever brought it here, can you try to take it away? I can lend my power to help.」
Naiad looks a bit nervous as their eyes dart back and forth and there's a bit of am embarrassed blush.
「I... might have? It was an accident, I think? Someone said 'Salt' and I tried to get somewhere to get a lot of salt? Whatever it was... I'm really feeling drained right now.」
The turquoise-haired girl blinks a few times as Tiresias goes on.
「I have no idea how I got here, or even where we're at, or WHEN we're at, or HOW we're at it. I didn't turn it into whatever the heck it is now, and what do we need to do?」
There's a hint of resolve in their voice as they crack their neck a bit.
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「Well, I hope you have the capacity to bring us back. As nice as a tropical vacation would be I do have school tomorrow.」
She sighs, turning her head to Tiresias. 「Hmm... I might have an idea, actually. I seem to be drawing weapons from some sort of extra-dimensional space as part of my power; I wonder if I could... reverse the process? Somehow? Instead of taking from my collection I instead add the beast to it? You seem like you're supposed to be good at knowing things, does that sound like at all a viable strategy?」
For all Juno knows she was planning on dropping the monster in her soul. She wishes wholeheartedly that bird had stuck around to explain the mechanics of all this for a bit.
"No, don't. There's a little girl in there. Trapped..." Tenshi says, shaking her head. "Because of me... I tried to help, but I only made... this... happen." Tenshi says, continuing to shake her head.
"Putting it somewhere safe would be best." she finishes.
Tiresias listens quietly weighing her options as the girls present them. The water girl seemed to believe she was responsible for bringing them to the Bahamas but she obviously had no idea how. Even if she did the entire thing must have drained her considerably so it was probably not an option. Juno's voice brought Tiresias back to reality.
The portals were an interesting proposition but do they really want to risk having that thing so connected to one of them? If Juno was capable of removing things from that place wouldn't that mean that whenever she did so there would be a chance that that thing would escape?
Then Tenshi spoke and Tiresias listened. Information was important and there was a lot of it.
"You don't know if this was really your doing. We were fighting it outside so it could be just as much our fault as yours. But you say there's another girl in there? Like us?"
Tiresias shuddered, a thought had been forming in the back of her mind. Dreams and nightmares are essentially the same. That creature was a nightmare and called them Dream Rangers. If there was a girl like them inside then maybe... It probably not worth thinking about it right now, they had to banish the creature.
"I... went into the dream. And I... did what I thought was right. Dreamers are tied to the world by objects... they're important to them. She didn't have her object. There were lots of them, in her case... and all of them meant something bad. I could have locked them away... but I tried to wake her up, instead. She was having a nightmare." Tenshi says, talking quickly, and uncertain she was saying things properly, but wanted to make sure the gaijin of the group could understand.
"I brought her her ties, and everything went black. I think I upset the priest." she says, quietly. "And this was happening when I came out. Her anchors were all... bad. Something was wrong with them." she says, then nods to Chell. "I... shouldn't be close to it." she says, suddenly. "Maybe she's like us... I think she did something really bad, though. Or someone did something really bad to her. Maybe both." And with that, she slipped away, once more.
Sakura looks up dazed by the transition of both versions. Looking at all of them she resolutely holds her arms to her side, determined not to touch anything. Sakura thinks for a second hearing Juno's idea. I, I could do it. She whispers.
Continuing to walk closer the edge of the water, to see the beached whale, I begin to feel the water pulse onto my feet as the sand morph to them. I fondle with my pockets to see if I can find my phone, and I think to myself "The only person that would miss me is my plant".
Sakura moves away from the angry girl. I, I, just wanted I just wanted to help.
"What did you have in mind, miss?"
Naiad glances over to Sakura hopefully because right now they are at a bit of a loss themselves as to how to fix this situation that they may or may not be the cause of and it's obvious they shouldn't've said anything because all it has done is started back-fighting and intimidation rather than focusing together as a team to fix the situation.
Please have a good idea, please have a good idea?
Tenshi: Attempting to step into the dream from here is like pushing through a squall of high winds filled with shards of glass. You can't see far in any of the wyrd directions, but the landscape is twisted and irrational. At least, more irrational than it was previously. The dream felt empty before, but now it seems inhospitable. You may still venture forth, but it will be a Traumatic experience with no guarantee of a payoff.
Barley: As you approach the crowd of cosplayers, you seem to cross a threshold, like slipping into column of cold air, and it is suddenly night on the beach. The girls seem to be conversing in hushed, panicked voices.
May: You can feel the cosmological crossroads around you; places where it would be a simple matter to... fold space. The intense sensation of magic that now fills you gives you confidence that the problem, as described by Tiresias, is not that big a deal. At the very least, you can feel the doorway that follows Juno, and know that, like a vault, it is designed to keep things out, not to keep things in.
The grotesquery sitting on the tiny island off shore has grown enough to reach the border of salt. A limb of clustered tentacles lashes out toward the crowd of teenage girls and thumps wetly against an invisible barrier. A gout of sickly yellow fluid shoots out. It coats the wall, and drips down to the beach where clouds of caustic fumes begin to rise from the sand.
I can see, threads. Connections maybe? I could try to connect them to her portals. Tie them back to where we come from. Maybe. If that's okay.
"Do it. Quickly. I have faith in you."
Naiad's words bubble out of her mouth as they watch the tentacled thing assault the dried mineral barrier and she once again takes up a defensive position in front of the duo.
I really hope she can pull this off.
"If you take her back to the mall... whatever's going on will just happen there, right? But without us to try to fix it..."
"They'll take care of her we need to get safe and figure out what is going on." Chell's tone was near begging Sora to leave.
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Alaina watched, heart broken, as no took the elevator up and left her behind. How could she have done that? They were friends! They'd looked after each other! Letting anger take over for now since it was the emotion that hurt the lest, she turned and ran off into the mall and quickly became lost looking for this supposed spirit train.
Sora winces slightly as she feels the barbs of the not-dream around her.
She follows along a little dazed. "But where is safe. How far? Where do we go to learn? Where'd the suit go?"
I. I need Juno to open a portal so I can try.
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「Well, here goes nothing, I suppose.」 Juno closes her eyes, concentrating on the beast before her; it would take a great deal of power to even open a portal large enough to contain it, let alone shove the monster inside. Juno prays that Sakura will not bail on her again.
Juno clenches her fists as she tries to construct a massive portal on the island below the monstrosity, trying to forget about the long term ramifications of what she is about to do.
"Anywhere away from here, the rest we can find out later."
Juno: It's a bit like trying to drink tea with your foot, but you manage to maneuver your vault to a place below the magic circle. It takes a few attempts, and for a moment you're almost sure it's not going to work. A dreadful hope fills you as you prepare to deliver the bad news, then the ground shifts, and the entire island the abomination sits upon begins to sink. You can feel your skin prickle, and a chill crawl up your spine as the creature begins to slip into your private collection.
Sakura: You watch carefully as Juno works, slowly narrowing down what threads relate to the portal. As it turns out, there is one, solid rope, like a gilded chain, that connects Juno to the portal. One of you focuses on the string while the other briefly celebrates the success. But there's no time, you have to focus. The thing is falling into the portal, and you need to do... something. You scan the group, searching for a useful connection. You're still not sure what these threads mean, or what it would mean to sever or tie them, but now that the plan has started, you get a feeling letting Juno take this on alone might be a a bad thing.
May: "Away" is just a wish away, you can feel it. The others don't seem to understand. Some of them were boys, of course they don't understand. They stand around like this disaster is just a pan of cookies that just needs the right amount of salt. This isn't something meant for little girls to fix. Sometime after midnight, like a wild fantasy, somewhere just out of your reach, you feel something reaching back. Riding on the thunder, and rising in the heat, you feel a swelling power that can sweep you off your feet.
Just before you start considering your options seriously, there is a sound of fluttering wings, and a patch of impossible darkness alights on a shelf steeped in shadow. 「Where did they go? Oh, kuso, you're the one with the, eto... Did you at least bring your marker?」
Naiad: Exposed to so much of your element you are feeling the sour lump in the pit of your stomach dissolving. You're not exactly thrumming with magic like when you first transformed, but you don't feel like you're suffocating anymore.
Tiresias: You can feel futures dying off. It's not something you could see before, but like tunnel vision, you're suddenly aware of how narrow options have become. There are plenty of ways for things to play out, like a great big ball of tumbleweed, but compared to the great, wide fractal of minute variations, you feel a slightly tense moment of panic as you realize things could go very badly very easily.
Chrysanth: You're nope-ing pretty hard right now. Only May seems to boil with the intense fear you believe this situation merits. The thing in the salt looks like it's less something you could cause fear in, and more like something borne from the place fear comes from.
Tracy: You're free of the vacuum whatever small blessing that may be, and the changes around you are making you feel pretty insignificant. The pressure is no longer on, but the choice remains. Unless you feel like you can see a way out of this.
Nephele: You see pearls before swine and the wonder twins start to magic at the apocalyptic mass of tentacles. Birds of a feather and the new girl seem to be fleeing for their lives while a tourist crosses into the border of the Nightmare.
Sakura begins to look at other threads. Specifically she looks at the plants thinking they should be connected to the sun.
Tenshi nods to Chell. "Alright... I think I've done enough damage, here." she says, watching as the thing sinks into the 'vault'. She moves at whatever pace Chell desires.
Tiresias stares at the girls as they devise a plan to contain the creature. A plan that went against her better judgement but there were really no other viable options. It was only after the creature began to sink that Tiresias panicked. Their future was being sealed in that moment, possibility after possibility was being annihilated and the ways things could go became narrower and narrower. She felt trapped as the walls of fate closed in on her. In a momentaneous fit of madness she began mumbling to herself just loud enough for the other girls to barely make out her words.
This is wrong, this is so wrong. Our fate is being sealed. They’re gone all gone, all futures and possibilities and plans and projects. Closed to us as it continues. It’s now, something must change. This is wrong.
Snapping out of her states she screamed and almost jumped at Juno.
Stop! Stop this instant! This is wrong, we are only sealing our fate here! Do you realize what you are doing? You are inviting the Nightmare into you! Do we even know what that could do? Do you really wish to taint the source of your power so eagerly? We must stop! As that creature sinks into you we lose our future! I have seen it.
There is a dwindling thread, like an unraveling mooring rope, which trails from Naiad to the moon. It seems to be supported by a weird cat's cradle of thread coming from May. Trying to splice this mess into Juno's chain would be a challenge, but you feel it's possible. As to what it would do, you don't have enough experience to say. You're also not sure what severing Juno's thread would do to her.
You begin to feel your skin crawl, like the sensation of bugs biting and burrowing against it. At the same time, you feel your magic surge to the levels you felt when first transforming. You don't think you could kill the thing in one blow, but you no longer feel Drained. Veins of phosphorescent crystal work their way into the gold of your resplendent dress. Your skin grows cold and clammy, especially your fingertips.
You're sickened by one thought: if this is just one taste of the creature, what power would you wield with the thing entirely secured in your vault. You are, if nothing else, a wielder of magic. Maybe all this thing needs is a firm hand and proper direction.
The giant mass of flesh continues to sink into Juno's vault, forming a ring of open shimmering portal into which water falls slowly. As it does so, the border of the Nightmare begins to waver. There may be no less panic in the air, but things certainly look less sinister. Unless you count Juno's intensifying aura of magic, and her development of sinister-looking crystalline accessories.
As Tenshi moves with Chell, she calls back, "There are seven stones on the ground that came with me. I thought they were just rocks, but now I remember carvings! I gave the little girl seven objects in the dream! So I thought they'd just lost their magic!". Being a former idol paid off... All that cardio and singing at the same time meant running and calling out was child's play.
One Sakura gathers the threads from the moon while the other tries to carefully separate the strands leading to Junk without hurting her.
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「Ah... I understand.」 Juno bears a wicked grin on her face as terrifying ideas flood her mind. 「My power is in what I own, what I possess. I am sure that even this monstrosity can be useful under my command.」
Juno snaps at Tiresias; what useful drivel is she babbling about? 「I will control the Nightmare. It is within my power. It is too late to stop me, so just watch me.」
Clarity. Calm blue ocean. Enhance your calm... John Spartan.
Naiad almost drifts off, lulled into a casual sort of acceptance of things by the comfortable susurrus of the ocean then hears the shouting and their eyes snap wide open as they see the THING going somewhere it REALLY SHOULDN'T.
It's more of a from-the-hip reaction as they reach out to the waves to batter against the raw insanity that Juno is attempting to take unto herself, not clearly reasoned out, just an empathic understanding...
That's NOT how it works!
The fact that Tiresias is screaming a lot of things about how inherently BAD this is kind of galvanizes their action.
Their goal: To get the thing out and away from Juno before it eats the arrogant girl's soul or something...
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Something twinges in the back of Tenshi's mind and she stops in her tracks near the edge of the barrier, she turns, and just as indignantly informs Juno: "Sweetheart, no one controls the nightmare. Nightmare is that twinge of doubt in the back of your mind. It's the fear everyone has of the dark. It's having secrets. It's being angry. I've seen a nightmare. 「Lucidly」. Less than two minutes ago. Nightmares are only consumed by hope, and even then the Nightmare itself will simply find a new doubt, a new fear, a new secret." she suddenly understands part of the dream. "That little girl in my dream did some really bad things, probably. She very probably traded a great deal for power." And with that, she returned to moving with Chell.
Why can’t you understand?
Tiresias observes the girls intervening in her favour, as Naiad speaks an analogy lodges itself on her mind.
Poison can sometimes look like water. It can feel, taste and smell just like water. And yes, if you add it to a glass of water you will have more liquid inside it, but no one would drink from it! You are poisoning your power with something dark, something evil that feels like your power. It isn’t! It will change you and change what you can do! You’ll become a liability to all of us!
Tiresias extends her hands to Juno, her palms facing the sky as she walked slowly towards her. There is no reason to spook her with quick and agressive movements, besides the time she takes to approach her gave Tiresias the time to prepare for what came next. Her face was now contorted into a desperate plea when she spoke again.
Please, we wish you no harm. There is still time to stop this, the future isn’t written yet but it will be soon. Come back. We will fine another way to banish this evil. Don't give in.
Seeing the beast in all on its tentacly-ness, Nephele realizes that they all had been transported to some sort of island by the water princess.
Allowing herself to focus back on the matter at hand Nephele can see that the beast seemed to be subdued but where is this head-strong little girl sending the fiend?
These young maidens didnt seem to be destroying the beast.....
so where are they sending it; and for that matter can these people be trusted with a demon such as this?!?
What to do??What to do?? A beast such as this must be sent back to the Abyss, but getting in their way will only create a rift between us.... I MUST HELP!
"What can I do to help fair maiden? Push the beast into the portal downward from above?"Nephele turns to Naiad..
"No! Get it out. Look at what even the forefront of it is doing to that girl. That's BAD NEWS..."
Naiad hasn't honestly been thinking of their situation personally yet, given the seriousness of the situation, and Nephele's term of address causes them to lose focus as they fight to try and keep the ball of Not Good Stuff out of Juno's portal...
Maiden? Whaaaa?
Given that some sea water has seeped in, she attempts to pull the water away from the salt in the sea water, so there's no safe place for the thing to go even if it *does* end up in a very not good spot...
Oh I hope this doesn't hurt too much!
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They did not understand. They would never understand. Her power may be her authority, her prestige, but all the inheritance in the world is nothing without resources; how could she throw away such a potent resource as this? Did they want her to be powerless, impotent? For her fortune to be meaningless, squandered in disuse?
No. Juno would not allow that. Perhaps she should show these whelps her new pet; partially taken, Juno could tap into a part of its power. That should be enough.
「Servant... You are not wholly mine just yet, but I will take what I have. Give your magic to your queen, so that I may deal with these plebeians.」
Portals appear beneath each of the other girls; golden chains spring forth, attempting to bind them where they stand. Witnesses can only assume that they are as golden as Juno's other weapons, as they are covered in a thick black sludge that obscures any color.
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Chrysanth watched in horror as the monster slowly sank into the portal, clutching her head as the others conversed. Something terrible was happening, she could feel it, but she wasn't sure what she could do. As Tiresias began rambling and pleading with Juno to stop, she realized finally that there was something she COULD do. The sludge covered chains easily bound her, earning a shrill shriek of intense panic, giving into the paralyzing terror and using her magic to thrust it onto Juno, force her to realize what was happening wasn't something to embrace, but something to fear.
As Juno begins to swell with chaotic magical energy, The twin Sakuras gather threads, plucking them from the air as if they were picking fruit. Naiad’s magic pulls the tide inward, attempting to flood the vault chamber. The mass slows its descent, but there is the shimmer of a popping bubble as the salt barrier is washed away. Juno also feels a vice-like pressure on her lungs that cuts off her final laugh, her hands raised to summon wicked chains to restrain the other girls. Juno can still feel the taint enveloping her magic like oil floating on the surface of clear water. Suddenly, the creature’s influence not such a great temptation. Juno’s magic had been a pure thing borne of her own spirit, and now this wyrd taint has tarnished it. Chrysasnth’s magic fills the emotional space of the Nightmare, and ensures that each girl handling the portal can maintain a reasonable measure of fear, and not succumb to the temptation of power. The twins are still caught standing apart, but one is able to sever the threads connecting Juno to the large vault portal. Juno can feel her lungs fill with air once again in a massive sigh of relief.
There is a crash of thunder as the thread is severed. The area is positively teeming with magic and the ethereal friction is tearing at reality. Juno’s end of the large portal’s thread withers and dissipates, but in Sakura’s hand, the severed portal spell screams for a connection like an uprooted mandrake. Sakura can feel her influence on the thread slowly make a connection as she strains to reach her other body against the golden chains. As the connection imposes itself, Sakura can feel her breath coming in shallow, insufficient rasps.The large portal shifts to a silver-grey color, and Sakura can feel the gut-turning taint as well as the surge in power, but Chrysanth’s spell keeps her mind clear of the temptation. Evil or not, this magic represents a threat to the world, and must be sent elsewhere.
Meanwhile, the monstrosity reaches out from its position to grasp the edges of the portal. A single rope of tendrils lashes out, crashing into the beach and sending Juno, Naiad, Nephele, Tiresias and the nearby Sakura tumbling to the floor, and snapping Juno’s magical chains. The twin with the moon threads leaps and catches the suffocating Sakura, and ties the threads together in a big ragged knot. The energy coming off of the threads is frigid cold, and hurts her fingers as she works. She’s unable to concentrate on the task long enough to do much more than a square knot. The connection fuses, and the portal’s grip on Sakura ebbs, but there is one key problem. The threads tied are the receptive ends of each connection. One, a spell to traverse time, and the other, a spell to contain objects, each asking each other when and where.
The roar of chaos is so great that it creates its own form of silence. Some of you are able to grasp the chains that once bound you and others are caught by those with such a grip. The air in the Nightmare is a spiraling squall centered on the massive portal which quickly consumes the mass of tentacles, leaving a vortex of crashing waves. The portal shrinks to nothing, and the Nightmare evaporates, leaving you all on the peaceful shore of an island in the Bahamas. None of you are sure what just happened, but the threat has passed. In case you were considering it: none of you knows how to change back into your normal forms.