foolishwren | 70. [DREAM/DREAM/DREAM/DREAM]

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70. [DREAM/DREAM/DREAM/DREAM]

_{[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:]}

Fear of blood tends to create fear for the flesh.

_{[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.]}

[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!]

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... I do not dream. Not as your kind does. How am I supposed to know how this works?

[And Ironhide is being pretty damn cranky. But... well. He's cranky about everything.]

It had better work. Or you are using your bare hands to get this off.

[He tests out the pavement with a foot before stomping out onto it. There. That's much better.]

_{[Heather is surprisingly used to dealing with cranky old guys. She got plenty of practice with Douglas in the year that had followed -- even a generally affable guy like him had his off-days.]}

Pfft, easy there, slavedriver.

_{[She pats the ridge she's been leaning on.]}

It'll probably work. _{[... She hopes. Because yeah, she really DOESN'T wanna scrub cancer-goo off of him.]}

I think it's down the road a few blocks to the left... I think.

_{[At least now he can stomp around all he wants without having to worry about plunging into the abyss.]}

[He grunts at that, the plating under her hand twitching again. The car wash had better work. Dream or no dream, he was feeling sand in his joints.]

[With those directions, he just keeps on marching. Or stomping. Or limping. Depending on the stride. Ironhide's walk is a very interesting thing to experience.]

You think?

... Well.

It's been awhile since I've been around these old stomping grounds, y'know.

_{[She squints into the empty darkness-- there's buildings beyond, but none of them are lit. This town is dead.]}

Pretty sure I see it though-- it's that squat, long building over a few blocks down.

I still say that if it is not here, you are cleaning this stuff off on your own.

[He looks around, though, and starts limping toward the building. It's... a little unnerving to see all the darkened buildings. A little familiar, in a way.]

All right, all right... I'll get the squeegees ready. _{[There's a hint of a grumble in her voice-- but it seems more distracted than disgruntled. As the building looms ahead, the words 'CAR WASH' spelled out in faded letters on the building's facade become visible.]

[It doesn't... look like anyone's been there for a long time, though... and Heather doesn't say much of anything at first, just watching those darkened windows with furrowed brows.]}

... Hmm...

[He draws to a halt as the sign becomes visible. Looking around doesn't produce any results. And, at his size, he can't really do much to help operate the facilities. Maybe Bumblebee could... but not him.]

[He looks over at her, waiting for a signal or explanation... or something.]

_{[After a second's thought more, Heather lets out a sigh and slips a hand into her pocket again.]}

Okay, put me down... I think I should be able to figure out how to turn the place on if there's power at all.

Watch my back, all right?

[He grunts, and lifts a hand to collect her.]

Nothing will get in on my watch.

[But there's not much he can do if there's already something inside. Anything out here though? That's not getting past him.]

_{[Once on the ground, she salutes! And then makes her way around the building in search of a door.]

[It'll be a little while-- eventually there's a couple of thuds and smashing sounds, followed by the creak of SOME opening being tugged open-- ... then silence for awhile longer.]

[A few minutes later, a single POK of a gun going off-- and then a light blinks on, shining out of a few windows on the end of the building. Heather's shadowy form appears after a second or two, shoving one of the windows open and leaning out to give a thumb's up gesture.]}

Electricity still works!

[Ironhide... hates this waiting game. He shifts his weight around, paces back and forth, keeping an eye on the building. Nothing seems to approach from the outside.]

[He tenses at the sound of gunfire, though, turning to face the building. There's no real way to tell where it's coming from, unfortunately, though he does try to peer through the windows.]

[In fact, she ends up opening one practically in his face. He pulls his head back, scowling.]

What happened in there?

There was a dog.

_{[She gives this answer matter-of-factly, like the perfectly normal thing to do when encountering a dog is to shoot it. Behind her, behind a desk, there's a small pool of red spreading from something that looks rotten and moldy.]}

Anyway, power works. We could probably start the whole place up long enough for you to go through.

... Right.

[He doesn't really question it, anyway. He just shot up a pile of fat, and things with giant arms. If she says she shot a dog, then, well. There was probably a good reason for it.]

How does it work?

_{[Yeah, there just isn't much in this place that's friendly.]}

Well, there should be like... a panel somewhere by the big entrance... cars go through it and get cleaned off and stuff... Hang on, I'm gonna climb out.

_{[... Because... going around back to the door is too much trouble, apparently. She puts one leg over the windowsill-- it's not a big drop.]}

If you uh... go into truck-mode, you should be able to fit through it.

[Ironhide grunts, and then transforms. It's accompanied by a lot of grinding gears, and a few sparks. But he does so well enough. His headlights flick on, just in case they need some extra power.]

[He waits, though, until she gets down safely before driving off.]

_{[Once down, she jogs behind him until she reaches the big opening. A bit of hunting around reveals the control panel that the workers once used to turn the whole facility on. It sparks a bit when she presses the button, but with a slow hum, the contents of the tunnel start to whir into life. No lights on in there, though-- must be busted.]

[The last thing to come on is the automated track that takes cars through-- not that Ironhide'll need that.]}

Hopefully there's still soap in there... but at least given the hygiene of most of the wildlife around here, chances that they've actively raided the soap dispensers is probably slim.

[The lack of light is no problem. Ironhide's hi-beams flick on as he rolls forward. There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the tunnel, or anything inside that he can see. Even if there is something in there, does he really have to worry?]

[The little automated track is... somewhat irritating, though. Nevertheless, he rolls in, eager to get the gunk off his paneling.]

Hope this works.

If it doesn't, you can... I dunno, honk at me or something. _{[Or yell. Actually yelling would probably be more effective.]

[Either way, she'll be waiting outside.]

[INSIDE? Well, car washes are honestly kinda creepy, but maybe the superstitious fear of being in a tight little space and moving through a dark tunnel where forests of big soapy mats went WOMP WOMP WOMP against the walls was a uniquely human thing. Maybe it's different when you're actually the car.]

[But around halfway through, another noise cuts in between the cacophony of OTHER weird noises. An awful, continuous shriek of metal grinding against itself. It's somewhat lost in the middle of all the OTHER crazy mechanical processes going on, but dayum is it a nasty noise. Maybe there's something malfunctioning? This place WAS abandoned, after all...]}

[He grunts in response. Not... that he thinks she can hear him. But still, he owed her some response.]

[When you're the car, it's sort of dull. Yes, it feels good to get everything scrubbed off, but aside from that, he's just sort of sitting there, moving through the little tunnel. He's almost too big. He hunkers down on his wheels, waiting this out.]

[The noise, though... he puts his brakes on. Or tries to. That track thing is annoying. He shouts out to her -- in his best Ironhide Yell.]

You hear something?

_{[Back outside, the sounds of the facility sort of... blend into one big mechanical cacophony to Heather's ears, although Ironhide's voice is big enough to carry over pretty much anything. Still, she squints and cups her hands around her ears.]}

WHAT?

_{[Was something in there with him...?]

[Meanwhile, inside, the answer to that was... yes. Yes, there was.]

[The first one comes without much of a fanfare apart from its horrendous chainsaw-like whine. Teeter-tottering along alarmingly fast on a pair of long, sharp stilts, it comes right the fuck out of nowhere and goes BANG-BANG-BANGing over Ironhide's hood before disappearing into the forest of swishing mats and spinning squeegees once more. But the sound doesn't go away. It's sure as hell not the only one there, and it's not made of flesh like the Closers and the Cancer were-- it's made of metal.]

[QUICK KILL IT KILL IT KILL IT]}

I said -- I hear something!

[And while Ironhide would love to move out of the way, he's sort of confined. He hits reverse, accelerating backward, against the motion of the little belt thing. It's only marginally effective.]

Now I see something--!

[There's a mechanical roar as the big truck's engine guns to life. Metal though they may be, he is Ironhide. He revs his engine again, and drives for the end of the tunnel, intending to plow through anything in his way.]

_{[PROBABLY THE BEST THING HE CAN DO AT THIS POINT. The wash might as well be cut short because... hey, a bit of cancer goo > being trampled over by a stampede of things with pointy metal feet.]

[Which, unfortunately, he will encounter nonetheless on his way out... wherever they'd been hiding in there, it seems the turning-on of the carwash had stirred them and now they were quite literally tumbling all around it. The truck doesn't look HUMAN and therefore they're not actively trying to bash him up, but it's... sort of a consequence when anything is stuck in an enclosed space with a bunch of Pendulums. They crash and slide over his windshield or crunch and bend under the tires as he goes-- aaaaaand at some point there may be a horrendous POP as a leg pierces one tire.]

[Heather, meanwhile, pretty much figures that SHIT IS GOING DOWN IN THERE, and is rushing around the building to get to the other side of the tunnel, gun out.]}

[Ironhide will deal with this. He's weathered worse attacks, after all. He's big, he's heavy, he can manage.]

[And his engine is growling -- or wait, maybe that's Ironhide himself -- as he tears through there. The popped tire does make things more difficult, though. Metal grinds against concrete as he plows out of the car wash, already in the process of transforming.]

_{[As Heather nears the other side, she can finally pick up the horrible screeching and she breaks into a sprint. SHIT.]

[The Pendulums wheel and tumble out behind Ironhide, scattering like a swarm of insects.]}

[Ironhide transforms as they fall out, spinning on the heel of his good leg. And then he opens fire on the creatures.]

[Probably with more force than strictly necessary, but they have invoked his wrath. And it is terrible.]

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sob I can't find a track of that awful Pendulum noise

IT'S OKAY. I think it's ingrained in my brain

GOOD. ... or maybe not good that is a horrible sound to have ingrained 8(

No, no it's not :(

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