70. [DREAM/DREAM/DREAM/DREAM]

[foolishwren]

<sub>[So while the rest of Johto alternately panics, cries, or rushes around trying to capture as many of the soulstealing insects as possible, there are dozens of souls floating around in that dream limbo, drifting in and out of each other's slumbering thoughts and visions. Whether it's nightmarish flashbacks or just those dreams where you're at school taking a really hard test, and then Dracula shows up, and then everybody's naked ... anything is possible when it comes to what people see in their sleep.]

[But what appears in the darkness in this particular spot in the spaceless, shifting mass of dreaming souls... is a door.]

[It's old, and covered with boards and bolts, rusted near-through in some places. The lock is broken-- mangled and half-melted and wrenched out of the keyhole. The only thing on it that doesn't look ancient is a scrap of torn notebook-paper that's taped up on it at roughly eye-level. It reads only a single phrase:]</sub>

Fear of blood tends to create fear for the flesh.

<sub>[More importantly, though... the door is ajar. Through the gap come the scents of rust and metal-- and something organic, fleshy-- and a low, deep hum of industrial machinery. It's not a door that anyone in their right mind would want to go through. ... But for anyone who may have stumbled this far into the dreams of their fellow lost souls, either in flight from some other nightmare or just pure, wandering curiosity... there's just no other place to go but through the door.]




[Go on. Open it. After all.... it's only a dream.]</sub>

[ooc: SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG, GUYS. Thanks for being patient! If you commented on that planning post, there's something spooky planned for your character to do here so please feel free to tag or not tag as it pleases you!]

~*~

[ooc: This is the IC post for what was announced over here! Even if you didn't comment there, feel free to participate! I'm still happy to whip up Silent Hill scenarios for folks!]

Comments

[shiromadoushi]

[[The concern was mostly being able to see... the floor could drop off suddenly and if he couldn't see, he'd be in real trouble!

A slight frown as his hand went to the Ring. He'd gotten it to light up once before in these dreams... maybe...

A deep breath and he closes his eyes in concentration, trying to reach out to the Item. The echoing tone of a wind chime filled his ears as the Ring began to glow with a golden light that bathed his face in eerie shadows.

Exhale. Open eyes. It wasn't much visibility, but enough! All right! Onwards!

... still keeping an eye out for any hole in the floor. And checking the ceiling too.

Just in case.]]

[foolishwren]

<sub>[There don't seem to be any holes in the floor or ceiling (YET...), but Bakura may notice that the state of decay and filth, already fairly advanced in this building, seems to be getting worse and worse... but at least he's getting somewhere, right?]

[The halls stretch on for awhile, lined with doors that won't open-- ... until one... um, IS?]

[One door stands open, and there's a flickering light emanating from inside, as well as sounds of movement. There is most DEFINITELY someone in there.]</sub>

[shiromadoushi]

[[Time to stuff the Ring under his shirt to hide the glow (since he wasn't sure how to turn it OFF again...) and peek cautiously in the door, doll still firmly tucked in his elbow. Hopefully out of sight.]]

[foolishwren]

<sub>[Oh, he's out of sight... which could work for OR against him should he decide to reveal himself to--]

[... A girl! She's got her back to the door and a flashlight in hand-- she's rummaging through some cabinet, taking bottles and boxes and either discarding them or slipping them into the puffy pockets on her white vest. ... Huh. White vest... green skirt... blond hair... LOOK FAMILIAR.]</sub>

[shiromadoushi]

[[A quick look down to the doll to confirm. Huh. How about that.

Well, may as well! He takes a step into the room where he can be seen and calls out, tone a bit soft.]]

Aa-- excuse me...

[foolishwren]

<sub>[The reaction is instantaneous.]

[The girl whips around with a ka-click-- aaaaaand now there's a gun pointed at Bakura's head, while the girl looks him up and down shrewdly-- oh. Okay. He's not a monster. ... But she keeps the gun pointed anyway.]</sub>

...

[shiromadoushi]

[[Oh shi--

He freezes, barely daring to even breathe at first.

Not the brightest move, it seems...]]

S-- sorry, I didn't-- didn't mean to... [[he falters a bit. Was it true what they said about if you die in a dream, you die in real life? He really hoped not! Not that he was in any hurry to test it out...]]

[foolishwren]

<sub>[Silly Bakura, don't you know it's not a good idea to sneak up on people in survival horror games?]

[She steps forward jerks the gun, indicating that he should step the hell back in return so that she can get a better look at him. Still not saying anything, though-- ... well. At least until she sees that doll tucked in the crook of his arm.]

[Her eyes narrow.]

[He'll probably be able to figure out the conclusion she's jumping to even BEFORE she speaks in a voice that can only be described as a snarl.]</sub>

Stanley.

[shiromadoushi]

[[He was trying not to sneak up on her once she realized she was there! He just... sometimes fails. Okay, often fails. His luck is pretty bad.

He blinks once before OH RIGHT THAT CREEP oh shit she didn't think he was...?]]

I'm not him! [[protests quickly, just in case. He had no idea what this guy even LOOKED like, and he was pretty sure no one else had his hair, but games and dreams were weird!]] I think he went this way, though... there were pages and pages of his diary going this way. [[and he's going to shift to very carefully hold the doll out to her]] This was on a board with pins on it... I didn't want it to stay like that, so I took it down.

[foolishwren]

<sub>[Oh yes, she totally DID. Because for all his lurking, all his notes and presents and creepy diary entries, Heather had never seen him. Just known he was nearby... watching. And probably naked.]

[Her eyes flick down to the doll, then back up to Bakura.]</sub>

... Yeah. Saw that earlier. Was creeped the fuck out, so I left it.

<sub>[But on second thought, while the fact that it exists at all is pretty creepy, she supposes she'd rather carry it herself than leave it in the grip of Stanley-- or anything else.]

[So she reaches out and takes it-- hastily, immediately drawing her hand back as though she thought he might try to grab her or something if she lingered near his too long. She still has the gun aimed at him.]</sub>

If you're not Stanley-- and I'm not entirely sure you're NOT-- then who the hell ARE you?

[shiromadoushi]

[[makes noooo moves until the doll's taken and then he slowly returns his arm to his side. Does not want to be shot, thank you very much]]

Bakura Ryou. [[bows a little on reflex.]] And it's better to not to leave it with the pins in it in case he was trying voodoo. Even if not, it's just not a nice thing to do to a doll, especially to one that looks like a person.

[foolishwren]

... Bakura.

_{[She repeats the name, sounding a little skeptical. On one hand, she still couldn't be sure this wasn't some kind of ruse to gain her trust... but on the other... Bakura? That didn't sound like a name Stanley would invent...]}

[shiromadoushi]

[[a small nod]] Un. Baku as in tapir and Ra as in good. [[not that he thought she was curious about the kanji, but... and since he was pretty sure this was a fellow dreamer and not an NPC...]] Arrived in Johto-- aaa, I think it's been almost two months already! [[he rubbed the back of his neck a little. He hadn't realized it had been that long already!]]

[foolishwren]

_{[She continues to glare at him suspiciously, up until the point at which he mentions Johto. Then realization flashes across her face and she lowers the gun. Johto. That's right. This wasn't really Silent Hill. This was just some screwed-up nightmare, like the other ones she'd been having...]}

Oh.

... Sorry.

[shiromadoushi]

[[Oh the relief on his face was so evident there.]] It's all right. These things... When they're your nightmares, they're really... it's really easy to get wrapped up and forget that they're just that, nightmares. [[his own had had that effect... even when there were people he knew weren't at Duelist Kingdom, he still was stuck in that mindset.]]

[foolishwren]

Mnm.

<sub>[She still doesn't look entirely at ease-- but at the very least, she's pretty sure this guy isn't Stanley.]

[Glancing down at the doll briefly, she then stuffs it into her pocket.]</sub>

[shiromadoushi]

Do you have any idea where to go from here? [[either to get out or to advance the plot. He wasn't minding this one too much, but if this was her nightmare, and all signs pointed to it, he was pretty sure she wanted out. New mission goal! Get Heather away from the creepy guy and out of this place.]]

[foolishwren]

... Well, I don't know where you're going, but...

_{[Okay, so she's being a little needlessly snippy there. Of course she's not gonna leave this guy alone in the middle of her nightmare. Even if it was just a nightmare... it was still the Otherworld.]}

[shiromadoushi]

[[eh, he's used to it]]

Aaa-- I was just exploring, really. I just figure you probably don't want to be here with that creepy person around, so finding the way out would be the best idea, and working together should make it faster than going it alone, right?

[foolishwren]

Hmph... not necessarily.

_{[FUCK ESCORT MISSIONS]}

Ugh... c'mon. I'll try and lead you out. But you'd BETTER not get in my way, got it?

[shiromadoushi]

[[blink blink. That sudden realization that he's not the main character in this RPG horror survival game and that he's being viewed as an escort mission subject rather than a party member makes him deflate almost visibly]]

Sorry... I don't need to be lead out, I just thought if you were stuck... I'm fine, really! Sorry to bother you...

[[because really. He didn't mind horror town much at all. The stalker guy was kinda creepy but he wasn't the one being stalked so that wasn't a big danger to him at all...]]

[foolishwren]

<sub>[Yeah. It's a bit jarring when you realize that to the other person, this is not a game. And judging by the way Heather's fingering that gun in her hand and staring at him with eyes that , she's no damsel in distress. At least not the traditional kind.]

[And because she apparently took her Angry Pills this morning she wants to leave no doubt about that...]</sub>

Listen, buddy. This is my turf, first of all. What makes you think you know the way out?

[shiromadoushi]

[[The line between games and real life is very blurry in Domino...]]

... because I walked in a door to get here. It might still be there.

[[awkward pause]] And it's not that I know the area, just that working together is better than working alone....

[foolishwren]

... A door.

Where?

_{[... At least she sounds interested.]}

[shiromadoushi]

Back in the room with the corkboard was in.