Second Slash // Memories and nightmares

[bladeisme]

[This is a terrifying, chaotic dream.

No, nightmare.

The entire surroundings are hazy and muted, but someone who's spent a lot of time down in the old city might be able to recognize them even through the blurry haze. The only difference is that they're definitely not ruins, even though they are in the process of being torn down by multiple attacks...and pokemon. Just as blurry as the rest of the world, they're still definitely pokemon...and they're angry.

The smell of smoke and blood abound, along with screams - both human and pokemon. ...Mostly human. It's possible to see humans being attacked by pokemon in the background...and occasionally right in front of whoever comes in the dream, blurry bodies falling to the ground and spilling red on the ground. Occasionally, the ground rumbles with a powerful attack, and pieces of buildings crash on hapless people unable to get out of the way in time.

The vague, half-remembered pokemon willingly attack the dreamers who enter into this nightmare, and kindred spirits and shifters will only feel and hear a deep, burning anger from them. There's no way to talk them down from attacking, no calming their anger and pain. All one can do is either run...or attack them in return.

If someone travels along the war-torn city streets, They'll eventually find Ichigo - looking around at his surrounding in horror and deep anguish. At his side, a large pumpkaboo floats - and she's obviously trying to get him to move, tugging at his clothing, trying to get him away from all of this and hopefully to the neutral area where they'd met. But it's like he's rooted to the spot - and every now and then, he speaks.]

No....no, stop! Why are you...?! Why?!

Comments

[roadroller]

[Rin runs for her life. Treble, the Nidoran nido-running at her side has lived a life like a pet, without ever having a serious battle despite all of her training - she couldn't ask her to fight true monsters like these, and so there is no other choice. The two of them run past Ichigo to hide in a crumbling building. Crouching down, the robot's hands shake as she raises them over her head defensively. This is deja vu. Her memories of this time are still buried, and yet that part of her knows exactly what this is.]

Again... why are there so many of them!? We have to get out of here and find Len! ♪

[Treble looks up fearfully into her buddy's face, and then... toward the door they just came through. Making a determined face, she charges out toward Ichigo and Pumpkaboo. They need to team up, she thinks!

Rin has other ideas, though, and tackles her before she can get outside. Picking up the squirming pokemon and holding it in her arms, she is freaking out even more. But then, she remembers that this is a dream... so if there's another person here, it's probably his dream. So she'll lean out the door and yell.]

H-Hey, you! Don't just stand there! ♪

[tsunbird]

[He's alarmingly calm, despite the wars raging around him. It's not like it's something he's never seen before. If anything, the cries of the humans being struck down by Pokemon put a grin on his face. He isn't the nicest of Shifters.]

[But he knows there's got to be a source. None of this is real, none of the humans nor the Pokemon move right. So he ignores all incoming attacks to him, dodging or deflecting, and keeps moving until he comes upon Ichigo.]

[Ah. That Honedge from before.]

[He exchanges a brief look with Ichigo's Pumpkaboo, and then stands in front Ichigo with his hands in his pockets, looking at him with an expression best described as uninterested.]

How long are you just going to stand there?

[roadrolled]

Ahh... ♫ [Len whimpers as his surroundings come into view, a strong sense of deja vu running through him like a hot knife. He didn't remember it, and yet he knew exactly what this was. This terror and anguish was far too familiar, and suddenly for the first time... Len was almost glad for his forgotten memories, if this was what he might have remembered.

Prying him from his thoughts, a pair of Pokemon approach. Without a second's thought he starts to run and cry for help.] W-what do I do...?! ♫

[Diving into the nearest building--just feet ahead of Ichigo--Len collapses onto his hands and knees. He can feel his body begin to shake with tears, and he's too distraught by this awful deja vu, this awful situation, to notice the Pokemon approaching him from above.

Right now, he just hopes Rin wasn't here.]

[hige_san]

[He never understood the how or the why of any of these things, and never bothered to worry about them until he was somehow in over his head, but the chaos and the bloodshed of this scene counted as a Special Case.

--He didn't care about the people. Not one bit. People he could do without. But, the pokemon?]

--C'mon, guys, lemme go!

[He tried to get his foot out of Rani's rock solid grip, but she simply gave him a stern look and refused to allow him even an inch to move from their relatively sheltered spot in the madness.

As much as it hurt to see, some fights just weren't worth it.

Harima grumbled under his breath, conceding to the Pokemon's judgement, and turned to look out over the scene again.

--There was a spot of orange that didn't belong.]

Hey! [He called out, raising his voice above the chaos.] You with the ponytail. What the hell are ya doing?!

[reincarnationception]

Hey. Hey! Snap out of it!

[thefloorislava]

[Lea had wandered into a few dreams since this all started, but this?

This one was the worst.

It's difficult to make out specifics through the haze of dreams, but what was going on was abundantly clear. People running, screaming. Pokémon attacking them, even innocent children. The only time Lea had come close to seeing this much chaos was in the battle of Caldera, and that didn't even come close. This was like..

the great war.

A large being, in the vague shape of a venusaur, approaches Lea from behind and bombards him with shadowy seeds. A blast of fire from his palm puts the beast down quickly enough.

This is just a dream.

When he finally spots someone who isn't flickering like a mirage, accompanied by a very solid, normal-looking Pumpkaboo, he knows he must have found someone. Either another kidnappee to the Dream World, or the dreamer himself]

Hey! Kid! [he reaches out, but stops just short of touching him] Yo, look at me. [he snaps his fingers right by his ear]

[bladeisme]

Wh-

[Oddly, the pokemon around seem to take no interest in Ichigo - outright ignoring him as the chaos swirls around him. But the voice is definitely not one he knows, and it knocks him out of his shock and horror, turning around to see -

....wait. Why is she....as familiar as the rest of his surroundings? He almost expects to see her as hazy as the rest of the world, but...there she is, crisp and clear as day.]

Who are you?!

[Behind him, a large brown figure rises up- standing upright, like a certain bear pokemon. But he's so wrapped up with looking at Rin, he doesn't even notice.]

[bladeisme]

[The Pumpkaboo looks at him a little uneasily, her little fanged mouth opening as if she's about to say something...but then closes it, going back to her trainer and tugging at his clothes again.

Ankh, however, manages to get his attention - and he blinks, apparently woken from his horror.]

What are you-?

[Wait...who is this?]

...Oh. It's you.

[...Rude, Ichigo.]

[beyond_hope]

[Vanitas hadn't wondered into too many dreams, but this one.... this one is different.

He's lost in it, the smells are overpowering him and he can't figure out where to go. He's terrified, never having seen dead people, much less in the amount that they're showing up in here, so he runs, anywhere his legs move him, and he doesn't stop running, turning every once in a while, trying to scape the sights.

He's lost all hope of finding anyone alive, when he spots Ichigo, and he sighs with relief, this one is not dead.

He walks over to him, trying his best to not surprise him in any way, and clears his throat, just as he hears the guy speaking and the words shock Vanitas more than anything]

what-- what's wrong?

[roadroller]

[Rin stares back, her Nidoran having stopped wriggling in her arms to stare too. This is so weird. Why is he looking at her like that? She's trying to bring him to reality here!]

I'm Kagamine- BEAR! ♪

[She blurts out in the middle of introductions. She doesn't know what pokemon that is, but it is bear-like and probably about to eat him and there is no clearly time to mince words here.]

[tsunbird]

[He doesn't pay the Pumpkaboo overmuch mind, letting her fret as she will regardless of his presence. A Pumpkaboo's gonna do what a Pumpkaboo's gonna do. He's glad either way when Ichigo seems to come out of it enough to notice he's there-- he didn't know how good his chances were of finding seeds here to spit at him to break him out of his reverie.]

[He has the grace to only look vaguely offended at "it's you".]

If it's part of your intentional daily routine to stand here gawping at monsters of your own mental fabrication I'll be happy to leave you to it.

[bladeisme]

[The sound of someone calling to him was enough to break him out of his near-trance state, Turning around in the odd way Harima's seen before.]

W...Why are you here?!

[For some reason, he had a very real sense that Harima shouldn't be here, in this chaos. He was too clear, and...he was off. Wrong. It wasn't....what he remembered...

But after a moment, he goes over - and it's like all the pokemon don't see him, casually ignoring him in their quest to kill humans.]

[bladeisme]

[It's like he doesn't hear Fei, squeezing his eyes shut.]

Why are they doing this...?! I don't...where's...

[He trails off when he asks that, opening his eyes and looking lost - lost deeper in his own nightmare. There was someone who was supposed to be with him, wasn't there? Someone important....]

[bladeisme]

[Snaps in his face? That's certainly enough to snap him out of his strange, half-dreaming shock state, staring at Lea uncomprehendingly.]

What-?

[Who was this? They were too sharp, too clear to be a part of his surroundings. The Pumpkaboo At Ichigo's side puffs up a bit, warily watching the human. Sure, he wasn't hazy - but who knew if he was going to try to hurt her trainer or not? He's hardly in any condition to fight back.]

Who are you?

[It's wrong, he's wrong, there was no one else in his memory dream, that's not what he remembered dreamed-]

[bladeisme]

[He's still in the same shock state, trapped between a dream and memory. Even Vanitas speaking to him isn't enough to break him from it - because he's just asking what's wrong, not trying to grab his attention and 'wake' Ichigo.]

They're...not supposed to do this, why...?!

[His expression cycles between anguish, confusion, and strangely enough...guilt. His hair arm continually reaches out for the air near him, as if trying to find something - or someone - who should be nearby.]

...I have to...I have to go there...make sure we're both safe, even if it hurts....

[The pumpkaboo at his side makes an unhappy noise, staring at Vantas. She's been trying so hard to get him to move away, and he won't.

Then, Ichigo suddenly moves - but towards the chaos, instead of away.]

I have to...!

[An Alarmed cry comes from the ghost pokemon as she floats behind her trainer, and she turns towards Vantas again. No matter if he understands pokemon or not, her meaning is quite obvious:]

Help me!

[bladeisme]

What the hell are you saying?

[He blinks, half-groggy - as if he's waking up from a clinging dream.]

My own...? Are you kidding?

[bladeisme]

[He turns around faster that he'd thought possible for his awkward human body - but it's too late. The blur raises it's paw in the time it takes for him to turn around, and when he's fully facing it does it take that opportunity to strike.

The sound of a claw scraping against metal is loud in the air, but Ichigo still cries out, grabbing his gut. His robes are torn there, and red blood begins to spill from the torn clothing - but oddly enough, it's as blurry as the other blood that spills from the dream-beings.

He collapses to his knees, falling to his side as the Pumpkaboo who was at his side nearly screams and floats over to him, puffing up as if that'll scare off the horrible monster. The monster, however, takes no notice of the pokemon - instead, it focuses on Rin.]

[hige_san]

Like I know!

[He was just minding his own business, and suddenly he found himself here. After another tug on his foot ended in failure, he gave in to Rani's protective stubbornness. The Geodude had her reasons, and he knew that she wasn't one who liked fighting.

A sigh. There was no way he could win.]

...What are you doing here? [He asked after a moment, as that question dawned on him. Why was the weird Honedge shifter in a mob like this?]

[beyond_hope]

[Vanitas is lost, he doesn't know what to do, what was Ichigo talking about? who is not supposed to do what?]

Hey, calm down, listen to me

[he goes on to touch his shoulder but stops right before his fingers brush the other]

come on what---

[He looks at the pokemon, a little desperate, and then Ichigo is moving and Vanitas doesn't know what to do. He looks at the Pumpkaboo in fear, and nods at her words, jogging after Ichigo and placing a hand on his arm]

please stop! you need to stop! get away from here!

[tsunbird]

[A continued bored expression.]

Or something like, at least. None of them are right.

[thefloorislava]

[yes good. Got his attention. Which meant he wasn't giving it to the horrors around him.

He notices the look the Pokémon is giving him, and he holds out his hands, palms out] I come in peace, relax.

[he looks back at Ichigo] Lea's my name. Apparently, dream hopping is my game. [he gestures to the destruction around him] This here is a dream.