Breach!

[voidtreckermods]

Day twenty of the month of Domino starts as a perfectly normal day on the Voidtrecker express. Passengers work on chores, or play games, bicker and read. The usual ways of relieving the slight tedium that come with being stuck on a train. Even a train that is hurtling through the void.

It is about mid morning when the whole train tilts, suddenly as if it has been hit. It is enough to knock passengers over if they don’t catch themselves quick enough. For those in the games car there is a loud bang as something hits the window. A small black object is stuck in the window for a moment before it dislodges and disappears as quickly as it appears.

The window doesn’t smash but cracks appear around the impact site. Almost immediately sirens begin going off. "Breach. Breach. Warning. Breach."

Hopefully passengers will remember what they are to do in the event of such an incident. For anyone in the kitchen they will see that the oven, water and other appliances switch off. Doors begin closing around the train, in an attempt to seal carriages.

Those in the games carriage won’t see much of that, they will barely have time to register what has happened before they feel dizzy and sleepy, falling to the ground where they are. This spreads throughout the train, the further away a passenger is from the games car the longer they will have before they succumb but within fifteen minutes everyone on the train will be sleeping. Even including those who usually do not sleep or even those who cannot sleep.

Because this is no ordinary sleep.

For some passengers they will sleep the whole day and night, solidly and dreamlessly. But for others, for most, their sleep is anything but peaceful.

They will dream, strange, wonderful or terrible dreams and walk those dreams with their fellow passengers. Tumbling from one to another with no sense of where one ends and the other begins they will dream the whole day and night, though it will likely feel much longer and perhaps much shorter.

Their dreams may come from themselves, they may come from their fellow passengers and there are a few dreams that all may find themselves dreaming.

Infestation

The train is filled with dralite. They are everywhere, in every carriage. Flying through doors, in your bed. This dream takes the form of a stress dream, every time you think you have emptied a space of dralite there are more.

They aren’t aggressive creatures, just annoying and the ever shifting dream means that every time you remove one from hugging your head another appears. The train shifts and warps, carriages muddling as you move through it trying to contain all of the creatures.

A Distant Light

It is a dark night, though there are stars in the sky. In the distance there is a bonfire lighting up the area. Around it there are figures, they are too far away to make out any features but in the flickering light you can see they wear hoodies in the colours you know well by now.

There is the sound of singing and laughter and you want to approach. But no matter how long you walk the fire is always in the distance, never getting closer. You feel a great longing to be at the fire, but it is out of reach.

Flying

Flying is such a universal dream and so it is not surprising many of your dreams will incorporate this. You fly, over mountain, across rivers and seas, through forests and through the debths of space itself.

But most often you fly through the void, the ever shifting void around you, diving through colours that swirl and dance around you.

Dream well Void warriors!

(OOC: The plotting and information post is here. Characters will wake up on day 21 and there will be an ooc mod post detailing that on the 10th February.)

Comments

[myblueskies]

Void Picnic dream

Romeo is sat on the room of the train, the long black steam engine spreading as far as the eye can see back and forth. Around them flickers the void's dancing colours. There is a huge picnic blanket spread out on the roof, traditional red and white checks and it is laden with food. So much food, a real mix from many different cuisines and cultures. But there is an abundance of apples, churros, chocolate gateaux and ice cream for sure!

Romeo is sat on a blanket happily, surrounded by friends, some are recognisable from the train and others are not. One is a blonde haired boy who sits close to Romeo smiling at him fondly. All are eating and talking, there is no fighting or bickering.

At the edges of the dream there is a veritable army of spygoats, the purple plush creatures that arrived when one Hibiki Shikyoin joined the train. They wield tiny swords and shields and are fending off some flying wolves, snowmen, goblins and strange fish creatures. Fish that wobble just like jelly and have long tentacles and a lot of sharp teeth.

But the goats have that in hand and this picnic is safe! Romeo spots you and his grin widens. "Hello!"

Reading Adventures dream

You are in a library, the shelves are neat and organised but the library seems to stretch forever in every direction. The shelves tower up as high as you can see and disappear out of sight.

It is a veritable maze but soon you will come across a clearing of beanbags! Romeo is sat on a beanbag holding a picture book up like he is reading to a group of school children. Sat on the carpet in front of him is the blonde haired boy, a cat, a goat and a lindusi.

"Then Gon the little fox said to the wicked witch. These violent delights have violent ends. And in their triumph die because the cake is too big for the hat cups."

This makes perfect sense, if the sage nods of the small audience is anything to go by.

Helpless nightmare cw: themes of slavery and violence towards children.

You are in the standard coach. At least is seems to be that way at first. The carriage is dark though and the tables are wooden, lit by candles. Romeo is stood there with the blonde haired boy. Both look scared and they huddle together.

The carriage is full of dark shadowy figures. People, but hazy, without real features. They are tall though, towering above you. No matter how tall you are they are larger. There is cruel laughter echoing from the figures, a voice is echoing in the air though it is impossible to tell where it comes from. "Sixty five lira, eighty five lira, seventy two lira, eighty lira, eight five lira, eighty five lira."

There is the clinking of coins, mixing with the laughter. It may be that out of the edges of your eyes you see strange creatures. Blobs, butterflies, bears. Tiny and brightly coloured with far too many eyes. Ayakashi for those who would recognise them, clinging to the shadowy figures.

"This one." One of the shadowy figures are coming towards you, reaching out to grab and their grip is strong and absolute.

"No!" Romeo rushed at the figure, to be hit at by another hand and sent flying backwards.

[beeps politely to warn you of the Breach]

[mimidaeia]

Early Warning System | The 30 seconds before you pass out
SXT-2 is a creature whose design involved some trade-offs. For one, she is less of a creature than a system of signals, so when the lockdown signals run down the train she knows. So those in a carriage far enough from the source- let’s say the dining carriage- will get some extra warning!

“An error has happened in the Games Cabin. Error. Games Cabin. Breach pr̷o͟c͝e͏͠d̵̛͠ur̵es͡ ͠i̶nit̛i͞a̧ti̸̶͝n͘͢g҉̵͡g̛ggg͝ggg̷̢͡g̴͟g̵̨gg̛.͠”

On the other hand she’s also yelling this from where she’s slammed full-body into the side of the carriage, having garbage senses in real life and no ability to compensate for sudden destabilisation, so there’s that. She breaks away from the wall after a moment, tottering like a baby deer.

“B͠B̨B̨́B̵́B͏̧B̨̢͝B̴̨҉B̵̛B̶͠B͘ŕ̷͘e̢a̷̧͢ć͞h̶ ͜͠p̛҉͡r̶͏o̶c̀edures are now in place. Sorry for the audio feedback. Please follow Breach protocol- and stay calm? I think.”

She’ll probably make it like three steps before she drops like a rock but hey, it’s the thought that counts?

wildcard
[Computer dreams are weird, I’m not gonna inflict that on anyone. Drop me a line if you want dream shenanigans, but to be very honest she’s not going to be much help :P]

[knifewithnoname]

The Chase Dreams

Two girls stand on the train roof. One is the girl you may know as Buttercup. The other is the same height, facing away from both Buttercup and you. She is wearing a faded green cotton tunic and loose trousers. Her feet are bare.

"Be coming back!" Buttercup shouts, but the girl doesn't listen. She just runs, runs right to the edge and dives from the train. Buttercup follows.

Linsusi Market

She is running through a warren of streets, chasing the girl. The streets are crowded, dry and dusty. The streets are narrow, colourful laundry hangs out to dry.

Finally she spots the girl darting into the market. She follows. They run among stalls of cloth, of spices and a lot of honey. Fish stalls and honey pastries. If you pause to actually take in the scene you will notice that all the stall holders are lindusi, the strange lizard creatures from the volcano world.

She scurries under tables and into hidden nooks, navigating the market the way only a small wild child can. But the girl she is chasing seems as wild and street wise as she is. She is always just out of reach.

Ice and Fire

She is chasing the girl up a mountain, it is thick with snow and a blizzard howls. But there are rivers of lava blocking the path. The girl seems to be having no trouble but Buttercup is frustrated at every turn.

Left, blocked, right, blocked. She has to hop over lava rivulets, dodge snowballs and also there are eagle owls. It is a terrible mountain. Still she cannot catch her.

Your money or your life! (cw: spiders)

This world is perhaps the strangest. A city of tall buildings. Some of them look almost modern- like the buildings in the last world they were in. Others look like those from her home world, smooth stoned and flat roofed. They are all tall though, towering to the sky.

It is bright. Lights shine from the ground, from buildings, from the trees. So bright that if you look up you can see no stars, just a terrifying blue, black nothing that fills you with a sense of dread.

There are cars. Some look almost like cars, others look more like trains, some look like the fighter craft from volcano world. Some of them fly.

There are people but also there are spiders. They are large, like the spider on the train and they are liable to jump out and bite people.

Like you and Buttercup. Bitten, wrapped in webs and delivered to a huge worrying building. It is the ER. You know this because it is a dream. But also it does not look like a medical facility. There are a group of thugs with swords.

"Be giving us your money!" They yell. "And maybe we will be healing you or you will be dying from the spider bite."

The girl is nearby, on a rooftop, high up. Still running.

(OOC: Or make your own adventure! They can be anywhere chasing this mysterious figure.)

[stealsyourheart]

A thief is a creative artist who takes his prey in style

"All the world's a stage, and we are only players. Welcome to my magic show! One. Two. Three~!"

The stage lights up, a spotlight on the young man in a white tuxedo and top hat, bowing politely. On three, he tosses up his hat and it seems to expand to fill the room, before exploding into confetti. The lights turn off again, plunging the room into darkness. In the dark, there's a gleam of light - a blue eye winks at the audience from behind a monocle from which dangles a four-leaf clover charm, a rakish gleam of teeth in a wide grin catching light from somewhere.

"Smiles and laughter are always good, but never forget your Poker Face~"

The light is blood red, flickering into a gleam held in a white gloved hand, a flame, no a jewel, no, a rose. A snap and the rose bursts into a flock of white doves that scatters across the room, revealing the young grinning magician again.

A gun fires, and the room plunges into blackness again, except for an ace of hearts that flutters to the ground. As the echoes of the gunshot fade, someone is laughing. On the back of the card is scribbled a single word - Pandora.

"I presented you with a number of illusions tonight, but the show is over. Let's meet again someday under the moonlight~!"

A detective is nothing more than a critic, who follows our footsteps

The wind catches on the wings of the white hanglider, dodging and speeding through a gleaming metropolis of metal and steel, Tokyo Tower gleaming in the distance. Somewhere in the distance, sirens call. But don't look too closely at the buildings as they go past - the reflections are full of the Void.

[marriedanidiot]

lands there are to west of West/where night is quiet and sleep is rest

The door opens onto a whirl of noise and sound, an excited gaggle of young men and women who all look rather alike, despite their diferences, pushing and shoving and rushing about.

"Come in, come in! Don't stand on ceremony. Family is always welcome here." Nerdanel draws you in, into the warmth and sense of home.

The house is big, and has many rooms, all with the same sense of chaotic warmth that comes with having a large family with visiting relatives. Here, Maedhros and Fingon might go hurrying past, debating some point of interest. There, a woman who looks like Fingon with dirt stains on her white dress is dragging a pale blonde archer out the door, where a massive wolfhound is waiting, baying eagerly. Over there, two red-headed twins, so alike as to be almost indistinguishable, are about to tip water over one of their dark-haired brothers, bent over an embroidery hoop. From the forge out the back comes an explosion, and Feanor's voice calling OOPS as Curufin stumbles into the house calling AMIL DAD BLEW UP THE FORGE AGAIN. Maglor's voice rises in song from the garden, twined with another, as a golden haired cousin accompanies him, while a tall boy (already taller than Fingon) is asleep on the grass beside them. A golden-and-silver girl demands imperiously of her two brothers to be allowed to come with the hunters, the quiter one already mounted and shaking his head at the younger one, who looks about to give in.

None of them stop to talk, but all have a friendly wave for the visitor, a cheerful hello as they go about their business.

"Come, let's get you something to eat before dinner." Nerdanel smiles and leads you into the kitchen. It's a very warm place, all golden-bright and full, in all the very best ways.

(ooc: Any of the Tolkiens will not meet their counterparts in the dream, but they MAY take their place. Anyone else may also abruptly be dragged into the shennanigans if they want. )

Day is ended, dim my eyes

The room is full of statues, so life-like that one might almost be mistaken into thinking them real. They're familiar faces, the statues. People that are loved. In the distance, is the sound of a chisel, hard at work. But there is no life here. Only cold stone.

Helpless - Also CW.

[sell_tickets]

Oh how he wished he could misunderstand. That he could be without a clue as to what this likely was. Growing up in Kaleer, he could easily have been unaware of the realities and horrors of slavery. But he knew too many people from Terielle. He spent too many long winter nights talking to Sadi. To the Demon Dead in ***** back when there were any. Prince Yaslana - Anduvlar and Yasi both, really - felt that the boyos needed to understand the harsher realities. So they had told them stories as well.

And more, they had taught him what to do, how to survive, how to save others. And how to tell who to kill.

The hand gripped his arm. He let it. He was waiting for his moment. He knew that so long as he wasn't ringed, he had a chance. And he would not allow himself to be ringed. And he had a few nasty surprises that no Terrelian slavers could have guessed at. He had been making a quiet descent to the depth of his Sapphire when Romeo was hit.

The air went cold. His descent was still controlled but no longer quiet. His smile, still there when he was grabbed, froze. Hardened. A brittle thing on his face. He reached his free hand up, like he was going to brush back a curl, then at the last moment slammed it against his captor's chest, driving the force of both his strength and his Sapphire Jewel at the bones under the skin. He considered making a pass through the skin and stealing the heart. He knew how to do that, he helped teach Darkmist how to do that. But that took a kind of focus that worked better the fewer other foes there were. The fewer other people he had to protect. So he would settle for shattering every bone in the man's rib cage.

"You do not touch him," he said coldly, in a voice Romeo never would have heard from him. A cold voice that spoke clearly and slowly, each word perfectly enunciated. "I am Lord Kharadeen of Scelt. I serve in the First Circle of the Dark Court. I am the Warlord of Maghre. I serve Witch. And these children are under my protection. The next man to touch any of them dies. And I will leave enough of you left to face the High Lord when you get to ****."

[deductiongeek]

The Chase
Conan was running, chasing through a dark maze of caverns (that were sometimes a shadowed amusement park and sometimes darkened city streets), following after someone he could almost see. If he just ran a little faster, if he could just turn the corners a little quicker.

But every time he almost manages to catch up, there is a scream, the sound of police sirens and the smell of blood. And he turns away from the chase to solve the murder case that has just presented itself.

Nightmare
It was an ordinary day at home. A bright sunny day with nothing wrong. He was walking home from school.

When suddenly, and without warning, a hand grabs him by the collar and pulls him into an alley,pinning him up against the wall. And Conan is instantly plunged into the terror of his darkest nightmares as he recognizes the face of Gin.

"We've found you, Kudo Shinichi. Who would have thought you could hide yourself as a child for this long?"

Nightmare

[stealsyourheart]

There's the click of a gun safety coming off.

"Now now~" A voice says cheerfully. "I'd appreciate it if you let my detective go~"

KID steps casually from the shadows, top hat pulled down over his eyes and cloak swinging gently, card-gun pointed straight at Gin.

Early Warning System! /does this before making a proper toplevel

[unfavorableinstigation]

Well, that's... foreboding.

Nita has enough presence of mind to recall the breach procedures (In case of a breach whilst in the void passengers are advised to move away from any furniture or walls, sit on the floor or your bed and bring your knees to your chest. If you feel dizzy roll onto your side.), but still had her first instinct be to approach SXT-2, (and by extension the games car) rather than run away.

She does drop too, and belatedly pulls her knees to her chest when she can't make herself get up, but hey! Definitely thought that counts.

[deductiongeek]

KID? What was he doing here? Inwardly,Conan panics. If KID involved himself he could become a target for them as well.

Gin merely gazes expressionlessly at the interruption, keeping his hold on Conan without any intention of releasing him.

"Kaitou Kid, is it? It seems the brat keeps interesting company."

With his free hand he reaches for his own gun.

Reading Adventures! (Can merge into any of the others if needed, particularly for Horror.)

[unfavorableinstigation]

The story may be interesting in its... odd turns, but Nita finds herself distracted by the library.

Its as if the books are whispering among themselves, and she can hear them, so why not go towards where they hint?

She finds herself switching between waving at the audience - or at least Romeo - and reaching towards the books. Waving, reaching, waving - and then she makes contact, and Nita is not Nita anymore.

She is also not in the library anymore, but a vast pleasant forest, and perhaps she should ask herself why, but she has a vision to share, warnings to spread, and she can't sit still she has to go-!

The Chase - Ice and Fire (and Pressure), as plotted!

[unfavorableinstigation]

It's not quite a memory - how an entire planet can simultaneously fit on a train is beyond Nita's ability to explain at the moment, but she's not in a state of mind to question things right now - but she is back on a world intent on shattering itself, and she has to get the kernel so her team can do what's needed to fix it-

Only, the kernel is a girl, and where Buttercup and her quarry were running up a mountain, they may find themselves heading down inside it, ahead of Nita, moving as if they were still on land.

The passing crust provides a wonderful light-show, though.

Day is ended, dim my eyes (with option to transition to the bright dream?)

[unfavorableinstigation]

This place rings of truth to Nita; there's a pain in her heart as she sees first her mother's face, then a stranger's. Someone equally treasured?

No matter - the room, the gauntlet, must be walked. Nita has to talk to the chiseler, to let them know their pain is shared, that they are not alone...

It is a long room to walk.

Nightmare (Bring on the Conans!) Please let me know if I should change this. |D

[unfavorableinstigation]

"Hey! HE can't be Kudo Shinichi!"

If Conan - or Gin - turns to look, its as if there's an animation error. There can't be two of him, can there?

"You want me? I'm right here!"

The alternate Shinichi grins fiercely.

Nightmare

[yep_stilldead]

You're in a cave.

It's dark, but not so dark that nothing can be seen. The surroundings are plain - gray rock, a touch of lichen, not much else. The only detail of note is a dust-covered doll, which no amount of exertion will move even an inch from its position on the cave floor. Doll aside, it's a perfectly ordinary cave.

What's unnerving, though, is the cave's haunting familiarity. Every rock, every pebble, every contour of the landscape feels somehow like you've seen it a thousand times. This entire small corner of the world is unaccountably mapped perfectly into your memory for as long as you remain there. It's not a comforting familiarity, though - it's more the familiarity that a lifelong prisoner has with the walls of their cell. It feels like you've been here before, been here for years, and will remain here for even longer.

The other unnerving thing about the cave is Ivy's presence in it. The friendly girl from the train is gone, almost unrecognizable in the face of her past. Her emotions run wild, bouncing back and forth between different extremes from moment to moment. You might find her screaming into the darkness, or laughing hysterically, or huddled in a corner in the fetal position, or clawing frantically at the unmoving doll and its surroundings. More often than any of those, though, she's just floating. Limp, expressionless, catatonic, she'd almost look like she really was properly dead if she wasn't drifting through the air.

The whole combined experience almost conveys what it was like to be stuck here for 200 years.

I bought a paid for this icon XD

[stealsyourheart]

If KID is nervous it doesn't show (but then, it never does - Conan and Hakuba are the only two who have gotten close enough to see him sweat), the grin never wavering.

"I like my critics in one piece~"

He says cheerfully, and fires a warning shot, the card slicing just over the surface of Gin's hand.

"So kindly hand him over~ The next shot won't miss~"

we can certainly do that~

[marriedanidiot]

It is a long room, and a cold one. Empty and achingly lonely, with nothing but statues for company, even if some look almost as if they might turn and speak.

But no matter how long Nita walks, the tapping seems to get no closer, the sound echoing and re-ecohing through the space, seeming to come from every direction.

Sound won't get her any closer. She'll have to find another way to find the sculptor.

Nita's Dream-a's! (Possible CWs: Death, Grief, Manipulation and Anxiety)

[unfavorableinstigation]

Infestation

If Nita wanted her dreams to be filled with animals, they could at least be those she knows.

To this effect, sometimes the dralite look more like cottonballs, with just one pair of wings. Other times, they're squirrels, and there's a black-furred mutt with a look of absolute Goodness in His eyes to help you, though he'll still spend more time chasing them than actually herding the beasts.

And sometimes, they're literal anxiety-manifestations of her friends. If you could just stay in one place, PLEASE! seems to be the theme of the hour.

There's a faint presence helping her, too, finding itself stifled at every turn but still striving to help-

A Distant Light

Nita gets the feeling she isn't alone out here, either... but no matter how much she looks around, she never finds anyone to comfort, or comfort her.

Until she sees you, maybe? Though maybe she thinks you're her shadow - and if you are her shadow, you have company.

Flying

If Nita had full presence of mind her dreams, she'd wonder if this is what it feels like to be the train.

As it is, though, the void is beautiful - and hey, sometimes there are worlds, familiar like old friends! She'll swoop down to say hello...

Prompt Me!

[Aka the Wildcard option; anything else we plotted on having yours see of Nita's canon, hit this up!]

Re: Nightmare

[unfavorableinstigation]

It's the fatigue that hits Nita first, really - she's young for a wizard, and she knows it, but now in this cave she feels like (perhaps) what a Planetary must feel: the age and weight of the world, its imprint on its person, the lifespan of the surrounding planet...

Well, it's just a cave. The scale helps, a little.

"Hello?"

Her voice doesn't even echo; the sounds just drop right to the ground like pebbles.

[unfavorableinstigation]

Nita continues forward for what feels a long time, before ducking sideways and winding through the statues.

It feels wrong, and grows wronger still, but maybe if she just takes a new direction...

/Show me your secrets,/ she whispers in the Speech.

/So that we won't be alone!/

[yep_stilldead]

It takes a long while before a weak voice responds. Or at least, speaks. It's hard to tell if she's responding to Nita or just talking to herself.

"I had a wonderful dream about a train."

[longforgottenpromise]

Flying

You are flying, in the void or over a world, a meadow, a mountain. Wind flowing through your hair or the swirling colours bathing you in strange light. Next to you is a creature. His mane is long and his coat dark, he flies purposefully but sometimes twirls and swoops and twists. He's having fun. Kirin can't really smile in beast form but he is happy.

Flower Crowns

You are in a meadow, in the distance there are mountain and if you look up the sky is the void. But the meadow itself seems almost normal, full of flowers, pleasantly warm.

Sat in the flowers were a creature and a boy. The creature was a strange one, a mix of a leopard, a woman and a fish. The boy was young, dressed formally, a flower crown on his head and another one partly completed in his hands.

Nearby there was a man, those who know him will recognise him as Gyousou. Silver hair, blood red eyes. Stern and foreboding. There is an aura around him, like fire, fierce but warm, safe but terrifying all at the same time. You are terrified of this man but also drawn to him. He is stood with a suugu, a black and white tiger, saddled up for riding. He is in conversation with someone in formal robes, they don't really have features in that dreamlike way. You are happy. The source of the happiness is Gyousou, all is well and good here in this meadow because he is there. A bliss washes over you.

The child is smiling at you and holding up some flowers. "Would you like me to make you a crown?"

A Door Never to Open

The room you are in is strange. From the walls and the pillars it looks like you are in an ancient Chinese palace, there are crystal statues dotted around, precious gem stone columns.

But also it seems like it is a school science prep lab. Chemistry supplies, test tubes and Bunsen burners. Taiki sat against a wall, knees to his chest. He was wearing a weird mix of a school gym kit and formal court robes. Outside there was the sound of fighting, swords clanging. But also rocks being thrown against the windows.

There is a door. Sometimes it is an ornate door, sometimes a door you would see in a modern earth house. Sometimes a sliding train door. But it is a door. The closer you get to it the more everything smells of rot, of death, of blood.

"Don't open it." Taiki whispers. But you want to. The door draws you closer. It wants to be opened and you want to know what lies beyond.

[unfavorableinstigation]

Nita looks around, trying to focus in on Ivy before responding.

"I think I did, too? But- when was the last time you saw a train?"

She can imagine one - different ones, even; sleek and modern versus old diesel style - but maybe this girl (still 'hauntingly' familiar) hasn't seen one outside of the dream before?

Flower Crowns (+ Interrupting Door, later?)

[unfavorableinstigation]

In this land, everything is fine. So why not be happy? Why not bask in Gyousou and this boy's happiness?

"Absolutely!" Nita grins.

"Only if I can make one for you, though!"

This space is at once both a bountiful field and a beach; the keks, crablike beings, scuttle along the shore and make sandcastles. Or are they grass-castles? No matter.

[kumoko]

Classroom Dream w/ social anxiety
The classroom would be a normal Japanese high school classroom, if all of the seats weren't ripped straight from the standard carriage; the board has a constantly shifting series of points totals for the four teams, with Orange always one point below one of the others.

The spider sits in the corner, not talking. The rest of the desks are occupied, a class is in session; the students are, to a one, either amorphous, terrifying shadows of smiles and incomprehensible pleasantries and questions, or Voidtreckers, somehow more tangible but no less nervewracking. At least one student is a stoic, bald man in a martial arts uniform, his features reminiscent of MMORPG graphics.

Skill Up! Dream
Remember the missions? Remember levelling up during them? Remember getting skill-up notifications popping up in the corner of your vision every time you do something? No? Huh. Weird. Well, it's happening. Move through a snowstorm? Ice Resistance Up! Walking up! Capture a lindusi? Animal Taming up! If you can think of it, there's a skill for it.

The spider is grinding her skills in whatever missionscape you find her in, obsessively checking a stats sheet every few minutes that makes exactly zero sense. But she seems to find solace in it. If you concentrate, you too have a character sheet floating in the corner of your vision, but likewise, it's entirely incomprehensible.

A maze of twisty little passages, all alike Nightmare
A dream of running, jumping, of constant movement through pitch black cave tunnels. Monsters loom out of the darkness: huge spiders, twisted frogs, wolves, gigantic, spiked wasps. Snakes the size of dragons, dragons the size of the cavern itself. Lakes of lava flash past, great pits descending into the earth, caves reaching up out of sight. And always, lurking beyond comprehension, a girl's voice, laughing mockingly. Soon enough, the tunnels shift into train corridors and back; the dining car, filled with rubble. The dressing car, on fire, her webs burning with a horrendous roar of flame. You flash to the next dream.