New Dream Adventures of Raven Knight

01/19/14

Two Worlds
I am in a place I don't recognize. It is a futuristic looking city. There are many people walking around, simply going about their daily business. No one seems upset or anything. They are talking to each other about mundane topics. There are various races present, some of them look human and others look far from being human. There are also robots. A robot that looks similar to a C3-P0 unit politely says excuse me as he comes up behind me. I look and realize I am standing in the middle of a walkway. I mutter an apology and step out of the way. The robot wishes me a nice day and continues on his way. The humanoid reptile behind him isn't so polite. She is going on about how could a mere robot have the nerve to expect a real person to move aside for him. She says she can't believe the nerve of some of these artificials. Right now I am thinking I would much rather hang out with the C3-P0 unit than her. She is just rude and annoying. After seeing she isn't going to get any response out of me she continues on her way, now muttering expletives about people who love artificials. I follow after her for a short while, not sure if she has anything to do with why I might be here. She finally stops and turns back to me. She asks what my problem is, am I having sex with that damn artificial? If I am it makes her sick. I tell her that who I am having sex with is none of her business. She snoots her nose up in the air and walks off.

I am trying to decide if I should bother following the grouch any more… I am considering doing it just to piss her off… when someone shoves me out of the way rather rudely. I look to see who and I spot the back side of a lombax in a really big hurry. I recognize that lombax! It's Ratchet from the Ratchet and Clank games! He pushes past the rude reptilian woman who gives him a piece of her mind in a stream of expletives… but he is already gone and she finds she is cursing out someone who appears to be a human male. The man thinks she is cursing at him and tells her to shut the fuck up, calling her lizard brain. She seems offended by that, which seems ironic to me. The bigot bitch is now the subject of racism. She fluffs up some strange hood type thing around her head and gets all indignant and walks away in a huff. I am about to follow Ratchet when I hear something else. Someone is calling out Ratchet's name and telling him to come back here, why are you doing this? Of course Ratchet is long gone and could not possibly hear the person calling him. I go to investigate the person calling instead. I can track Ratchet down later if I need to.

I follow the voice that called Ratchet and find a small work room. There are computers all over the place as well as an array of tools. Some of the tools are put away neatly while others are strewn on a work table. Clank is here, he is standing on the work table. He is connected to a large object sitting on the floor by what looks like a long extension cord. Wtf? He isn't looking when I come in and apparently thinks Ratchet has come back. He says he is glad I have finally come to my senses… now put his robotic ignition system right back where it belongs, and he'd better have a good explanation as to… Now Clank turns around and sees me at the door, he sees I am not Ratchet. I tell him I don't know what is going on, but I saw Ratchet running down the street as if he was being chased by a blargian snagglebeast. I tell him I believe I have been brought here to help… so what is going on? Clank looks mad for a bit, then he just looks sad. He says he wishes he knew, but he doesn't think I can be much help unless I have a robotic ignition system. I tell him I can get one of those… I think… I access the penticon chip in my brain and ask if it can replicate a robotic ignition system. It scoffs at me and says of course, just upload the exact specifications. There is a pause, Clank looks at me strangely, and then a mechanical device appears on the work table. My penticon reports the replication is complete. Clank picks up the device, opens a panel in his side, plugs a couple things in to the device before putting the whole device inside and closing the panel. He then unplugs the extension cord. He says he's glad to be off of that thing. I ask what that is. He says it's a backup power source… his internal power system won't function without the robotic ignition system… which Ratchet stole! I ask why would he do that? Clank says he doesn't know, just that he seemed to be in a big hurry when he was setting up the backup power supply… which Clank hadn't realized what that was for at the time… but there must be something wrong. The Ratchet he knows would never have done that…

Well it seems there is a bit of a mystery, and I guess I have to track Ratchet down after all. I sniff the air and comment that I smell a Templar, more to myself than to anyone around. Clank asks what that is. I say it's like saying I smell a rat, only far, far worse. A Templar… smells like the stuff that comes out of the south end of a north bound blargian snagglebeast. He cocks his head and looks at me strangely. I comment that someone is going to eat dirt. Clank apparently thinks I mean Ratchet because he says no, don't kill Ratchet… there must be a very good explanation, he's sure of it… there has to be… I tell him I don't mean Ratchet… I mean someone else I know named Robert de Sable who I suspect is somehow behind everything. He's a Templar. Gotta go find him and Ratchet before something happens that can't be undone so easily as replacing a robotic ignition system.

I head out of the work shop quickly, but I am sure Ratchet is long gone. I am wondering how to best find him when I see a ship fly overhead. It looks like the ships that are often used in the Ratchet and Clank games. I scan it with my penticon quickly and confirm Ratchet is on board. I summon my fire valkyrie, teleport aboard. I hear Clank following after me and saying he wants to come, so I also teleport him aboard. I follow after Ratchet as he heads into space. In space I use the communicator to contact Ratchet. At first he doesn't respond at all but then he apparently realizes Clank is with me and answers. He seems glad to see Clank is ok, though he also seems surprised and says he'd been told the replacement robotic ignition system wasn't due in until tomorrow… I say I replicated one. Clank wants to know what's going on. I can't really tell if Clank is pissed off or worried or what. He says there's no time to explain, there's something he's got to do… and shuts off communication. The other ship is preparing to go to warp drive, so I use a tractor beam and hold it in place. That gets Ratchet's attention back really quick and he makes contact again, now saying to let him go or they'll all be killed. All of who? The lombaxes! And he's already late, it might already be too late! Clank seems annoyed now, he says if there are lombaxes in danger, why didn't Ratchet just say so? Ratchet should have known Clank would help… Ratchet says no, he has to go alone, those are the rules. He has to give himself up or that bastard is going to kill all of them. Clank says it's no doubt a trap. Ratchet looks at something off to his side and then looks like the world is about to end. He says it's too late now… there's no way he can get there in time. I comment my ship can get there in time. Just tell me where. And there won't be any flying into a trap alone, either. He repeats he has to go alone or that bastard is going to destroy the whole planet. I use Of Wolf and Man to transform into Ratchet. Ok… now where? Clank and Ratchet are both staring at me now. I tell Ratchet if time really is running out, I just need to know where to go. Clank asks if I'm not worried that whoever this is will just kill me instead. I say no. Not at all worried. I got abilities this guy has certainly never even had nightmares about. Let's see if this asshole is counting on meeting up with a formshifting virus.

Well now I look like Ratchet, but I figure the asshole in question might also notice if a fire valkyrie comes flying in. So I use the ship computer to open a wormhole to the coordinates Ratchet provides. I tell him I'll use my transporter to swap places with him, just take my ship back to the planet, I need to use his to make sure the asshole doesn't notice a difference. He agrees to it, and my penticon does the teleportation. It feels a bit strange to see someone else sitting in the pilot's seat of my fire valkyrie… but I figure it will be ok. I fly through the wormhole. On the other side I can tell I am now on the outskirts of the galaxy. It is quite an amazing view. There is a space station hovering in the emptiness of space. That is where Ratchet has been told to go, so that is where I will go. I fly over to the station. I get a communication from the station. The transmission is from a strange alien that I recognize from the Ratchet and Clank series, he's a cragmite. Looks like Percival Tachyon from the later games. So I figure he probably wants to get rid of Ratchet, me now, because he (I'm) a lombax. He's just being an asshole. He says I am late. That is bullshit. I tell him I'm fucking early. He doesn't really respond, but the landing bay of the station opens up so I land.

In the landing bay I find I am surrounded by numerous strange creatures that look like fish wearing suits of armor. Weird. My first thought is that the sushi is delivering itself. But I figure I had better not resist or that damn Tachyon is going to do whatever it is he has been threatening to do. They use some kind of restraint to secure my hands behind my back. I test it a bit. Yeah, my viral strength can snap it like a twig. I do nothing but go with them, however. Gotta find the head of the snake. I follow the fish people into a large control room where Tachyon is standing right beside a console with a very distinctive red button. He is laughing at something. I see the largest display screen shows a city inhabited by lombaxes. I wonder where that is. Tachyon now that I'm here the show can begin. He tells me to say goodbye to the rest of my kind. While his behavior doesn't really surprise me at all, it does still piss me off. I say he gave his word that if I came he wouldn’t do that. My penticon is talking to me at the same time. It says it has accessed the targeting system and found a more appropriate target. Tachyon acts like he is surprised, then says he wouldn't have said that… I am trying to talk Tachyon out of firing the weapon, because I am not sure I can get to him before he can push the button. Maybe… but I'm not wanting to take that chance. My attempts to convince him to not do it seem to amuse him. He clearly doesn't care that the lombaxes on the screen have done nothing to him… the last thing I comment is that when someone does something like that it inevitably comes back to bite them in the ass. He says there's no one to make him pay.

So Tachyon is laughing his ass off when he makes a show of pushing the button. Nothing happens. He stops laughing and looks at the screen which still shows a city with lombaxes going about their daily business. He pushes the button again. Still nothing. He pushes it several more times, getting more frustrated with every push. I can't help but point out how anti-climatic that was. He is pissed and pounding on the button. I look over at a screen near the firing button. There's a gage that had been maxed out just a few minutes ago, now it is sitting on empty. It is the reading for the weapon charge level. I tell Tachyon it clearly already fired… maybe he needs to check his targeting coordinates. He stops pushing the red button and looks at the gage. He then looks at a terminal and begins typing something on it. He says something can't be, seems visibly upset by it. The scene of lombaxes on the screen is replaced by a scene showing the debris of what may have recently been a planet. He looks at the console, at the screen, then he glares over at me and asks how the fuck I managed to do that. I tell him I did nothing… he did that. What did you do? Blow up the wrong fucking planet? My penticon reports to me that he has successfully destroyed the planet where the cragmites had ended up after the lombaxes had sent them through a dimensional portal. I do a face palm… a double… I need more hands. He blew up his own planet!

Tachyon is pissed off beyond belief at me. He seems to think I somehow managed to access his computer system and retarget the weapon all while being restrained and right in front of him trying to talk him out of firing it. I tell him nope, this is all him. I told him it would bite him in the ass… He insists on saying I will pay for it and so will all of those other filthy lombaxes. Well I don't particularly want to consume this one… I am thinking his thoughts and memories might be too repulsive… but I also want to know if he has had dealings with Robert de Sable, if that is why I was brought here. I tell him maybe he was given a defective weapon… by who? The name wouldn't happen to be Robert de Sable, would it? He stops mid rant and looks at me. He looks like he has just figured it all out. He says Robert de Sable must be my friend! I knew the whole time that the weapon wouldn't fire where he aimed it because my friend Robert de Sable set me up. I tell him Robert is no friend of mine… but that does explain where a dumb cragmite managed to get hold of an interdimensional planet destroyer weapon. I smell a Templar. He says it doesn't matter… as soon as the weapon is charged he will make sure it is aimed at the lombax planet and blow them all out of existence. He pushes a couple buttons on the controls and the power gage starts rising as the weapon is recharging.

I decide I have had enough of Tachyon. More than enough, really. I tell him the only ones about to not exist are him and his pal Robert. He laughs at me and says there's nothing I can do about it. If it wasn't for the fact he wants me to see the rest of the lombaxes wiped out of the galaxy I'd already be dead. I tell him he talks a lot… that's because he's weak. And pathetic. He says I'm in no position to be insulting him. I break the restraints like a twig. He backs up a couple steps. He points at me and say GET HIM! So that's his whole plan? Not going to work on a virus. I don't bother shifting back to my normal form, but I do activate an Alex Mercer blade on my right arm. There are fish people all around me in their futuristic armor. My blade slices through their armor like a hot knife through butter. So I cut down the enemies that attack me. I see Tachyon staring at that scene for a bit before he apparently decides it would be a good idea to make a hasty retreat. This guy is as much of a flaky chicken-wuss as Robert himself! Come back here, you flaky jerk! Feel my blade! I am about to chase after Tachyon when I see the power gage on the weapon is at full… and still climbing. It is now overcharging. It is entering the red zone. The intercom system is now warning of imminent detonation if the charge is not stopped.

Forget Tachyon. He will most likely blow up with his station. Just to be sure the overcharge can't be aborted I smash the controls before leaving. I head back the way the fish people brought me from. My ship, or really Ratchet's ship, is still sitting in the landing bay. I jump into the ship and launch out of there. I am flying away from the station when there is a blinding explosion behind me… the whole thing just blew up. I wonder if there is any chance Tachyon got out of that alive. I figure if he did, at least he won't have access to an interdimensional planet destroyer weapon now. Scans show no signs of life in the vicinity. So I just have to go back to Ratchet and Clank and tell them the lombax planet is safe, and Tachyon is most likely subatomic particles. I use the penticon chip in my brain to open the wormhole I need to get back quickly. I land Ratchet's ship near my own fire valkyrie, which is landed not far from the work room where I originally found Clank. I get out of the ship and go to the work room. Both Ratchet and Clank are there, though I get the idea they haven't been getting along too well. I hope Robert didn't succeed in fucking things up between them with his stupid interference… I tell them that the planet destroyer is gone, Tachyon is space dust. Or at least I think he's space dust. I didn't actually see him explode. Ratchet seems relieved at that news. Clank still looks kind of pissed. It seems Ratchet is just giving him some space. I don't know if it makes any difference, but I flood the room with positive energy with a song spell I hum to myself. It does seem to have some effect. Clank doesn't look as mad, he asks me what that strange melody is. I say it is called Voices, from a show where I come from called Macross. Well all I can do is hope what Robert did doesn't leave any lasting effect, because it is here that I wake up.

01/17/14

I am in a strange place that somehow looks familiar and foreign to me at the same time. I am walking down a street in a town that looks like something out of one of my video games. Specifically out of Assassin's Creed I. Maybe Jerusalem. There are people walking on the streets and chatting casually though they all seem a bit uneasy. Like they're expecting something to happen at any moment. I notice there seem to be an awful lot of guards wandering the street as well. Many more than would seem justified in a peaceful city street. The guards also seem a little on edge. I see a commotion from off to my right and I head in that direction. There are a lot of people gathered around one spot, all talking animatedly. Some people are talking about dark magic and demons. I wonder what is going on. I push my way through the crowd to get a look at what they're talking about. People are calling the guards, apparently worried about something. Someone tells an approaching guard to use caution, this creatures has black magic and isn't afraid to use it! I head in the direction they are indicating. I am thinking this black magic user might be why I'm here.

I get to the place they have indicated before the guards close in and block it off. I find that the guards do have someone cornered, and it is definitely someone who doesn't belong here. Ratchet and Clank are here at the end of a dead end alley. The alley is blocked off by guards and Ratchet has one of his guns out and is pointing it at the guards. Clank is telling him he doesn't know if they're really enemies or if they're just confused, which must be why Ratchet isn't firing at the guards. The guards are wielding their swords at Ratchet but don't seem to dare approach, most likely due to the scorch mark on the ground... it seems Ratchet fired a warning shot and that is the "black magic" they're referring to. The talk of demons comes from the fact they've never seen anything even close to a lombax or a robot before, especially not one that appears to throw fireballs... A guard finally decided to use a ranged weapon... and he fires an arrow at Clank. The arrow hits Clank and bounces off with a *clank* noise but doesn't harm him. I get closer to them and throw a smoke bomb into the middle of the scene. I use my eagle vision to locate Ratchet and Clank and get them off of the street into a small concealed garden area that would no doubt make a very good hiding spot for an Assassin. I hear the guards behind me yelling and searching, giving orders to find them immediately. I wonder if they have a better plan on what to do if they do find them… get shot with more fireballs?

Ratchet and Clank seem quite confused as to what is going on. I tell him someone is screwing with space-time and I think I know who... and that someone is gonna be feeling my hidden blade really soon. Clank says they had just been heading to town to get a replacement part for Ratchet's space ship when a strange gateway had opened and pulled them here. Ratchet seems annoyed at being called a demon. I am thinking I need to open a portal to get them home. Before I have a chance to I spot that we aren't alone in the garden. I had originally thought it looked like a good hiding spot for an Assassin and I'm not the only one to have thought that. Altaïr is here. He is right behind Ratchet. Wait... does he also think Ratchet is some kind of demon or monster? I think he does... because he has his hidden blade out. Before he can stab Ratchet I push Ratchet out of the way and tell him to stop it. Altaïr stabs me. Of course in the dream state I am now a virus like Alex Mercer... so that does nothing except create a small injury that instantly heals. I ask Altaïr what he's doing that for. He hesitates when he sees me heal and says I must be another of the demons. He says he has heard that the Templars have enlisted demons to aid them. I say yes, they have, but neither Ratchet nor I are demons. The demon is no doubt the one who pointed Ratchet out to him. I am an Assassin from another dimension. Ratchet is also from another dimension, also not a Templar. Altaïr seems unsure of who to believe now. He says he's seen Ratchet use black magic on some guards... No. Not black magic. Just a more advanced weapon. One that doesn't really belong here, so he'll be taking it home with him.

So I need to send Ratchet and Clank home. I start focusing on opening the portal but it seems to be giving me trouble. Altaïr seems unsure of who to believe. I get the idea he is leaning towards believing me. He eyes me for a moment and then says he does believe me, that other person hadn't stayed around long enough for him to verify who's side he was on... but he can see I am an Assassin. He stares at Ratchet for a long while and that seems to annoy Ratchet a bit, who switches his tail around... which draws Altaïr's attention to it and he stares even more. Ratchet finally asks Altaïr if he's never seen a lombax before. "A what?" is Altaïr's response. I comment no, no one here has ever seen a lombax. Wrong time. Wrong planet. Wrong galaxy. Wrong fucking dimension. Robert de fucking Sable. I really want to find Robert and then rip off his favorite body part and shove it up his ass… Ratchet is asking who Robert de Sable is, but Altaïr knows exactly who I am talking about. He says Robert de Sable and his Templars will stop at nothing to get what they want, but this… a lumbet from a different planet? A different dimension? Yeah… but a lombax, not a lumbet… whatever those might be… I gotta send him home. I focus on opening a portal to send Ratchet and Clank back home.

I am focusing on the portal when Altaïr distracts me. He says Robert de Sable's name. I turn and see Robert de Sable standing at the entrance to the garden. He is laughing. Altaïr says he doesn't know what scheme the Templars are up to this time but it will fail. As long as there are Assassins around the Templars will always fail. Robert seems to be ignoring Altaïr right now. He asks me if I'm not going to send my two friends home. I hesitate in opening my portal… he seems to like the idea of me sending them home a bit too much, like maybe the Templars have fucked up my portals somehow. Like maybe if I send them "home" I'll actually be doing something to make things much worse. Robert laughs when I hesitate. Of course maybe he is just messing with me, too. And I can't keep Ratchet and Clank here… I really want to kick Robert's ass. Ratchet asks who this guy is, referring to Robert. He is the cause of a hundred paradoxes that Assassins keep having to fix… and this is just another fail. Because that's what he does. He fails. Has always failed. Will always fail. In the history books next to the name Robert de Sable they will write, "The Ultimate Infinite Failure" as the definition. Robert says he will show me a failure and throws a dark energy fireball at Altaïr. I pull the energy ball over to me and absorb it. I tell him to stop passing out dark energy. Well he has done it for the last time, anyway. I use an Alex Mercer move and drive spikes into the ground. They erupt right under Robert… right as he disappears in a blast of smoke. Shit! The chicken-wuss disappeared again! "Come back and FIGHT ME, you FLAKY JERK!"

The spikes and the commotion have apparently gotten some attention. Guards are entering the garden through the narrow entrance. They have their swords out and are attacking on sight, apparently not concerned with the idea there might be some innocent people here, too. One of them gets himself stabbed by Altair's hidden blade. A second gets shot with Ratchet's blaster, a third gets electrocuted when he tries to grab Clank. My Alex Mercer claws take out a fourth. The others aren't as quick to push through the opening. Altaïr says he knows a way out. He jumps up a wall and grabs a ledge, climbing as if he is assuming everyone else can obviously follow him. Clank jumps onto Ratchet's back and uses a jet booster to get Ratchet all the way up to the ledge Altaïr grabbed. I easily follow them as well. I guess Altaïr wasn't mistaken when he assumed everyone could follow him. Except the guards, that is. They don't seem to be able to reach the ledge. Close, but not quite. Altaïr throws a knife and takes out an archer aiming at us. A shot from Ratchet's blaster takes out that archer's partner. We get to a place that is hidden from the guards. I hear them out there still looking, but they aren't having any luck.

I go back to focusing on opening a portal to get Ratchet and Clank home. A portal opens. I look through the portal and see a place that definitely looks consistent with a Ratchet and Clank world. Robert is still in my mind laughing, still making me question whether this portal is good or not. I go through it, indicating Ratchet and Clank should follow. If it's the wrong place I can set it right once we get there. On the other side of the portal I look around and see the setting is consistent with a Ratchet and Clank world, but the inhabitants are not. The inhabitants are all reptilian creatures with big green eyes and a lot of teeth. They see us enter from a portal. Some of them just look confused, others look like something else… One of them is looking at Ratchet in a way that makes me think he wants there to be fresh lombax on the menu for tonight. I think Ratchet has the same idea, he gets a bit closer to me and says this is definitely not his home world. I tell him I know, this is another trick of Robert's. Time to get out of here. I open another portal, focusing even stronger on getting to Ratchet and Clank's home world. The portal opens and we go through it before anyone in the previous place decides to make a move. Now this world looks right. One of the people there even seems to recognize Ratchet and Clank. I think for a bit and remember his name… Big Al! So I think they're in the right place now. Which is good since here is where I wake up.

01/08/13

Ratchet and Templars
I am in a strange place. I look around to see where I am. It looks like a futuristic city of some kind. There are cars flying in the air and robots intermingling with the people. Additionally, the people look like they are various races from various planets. I look around and watch the variety of people and robots, completely disoriented and confused. I turn around and start walking in a direction I feel drawn in. As I do so I almost trip over a smaller robot that happens to be standing right behind me. Oops… I look down at the robot and absently apologize and say excuse me. The robot is about two feet tall and has glowing green eyes.

The robot speaks, he says not to worry about it in a pleasant voice. I am still feeling disoriented, so I turn around to walk away from the robot and walk into someone else. I curse silently at myself that I really need to watch where I'm going. This time I have walked into an alien, though I guess I am not really certain that he is the alien… maybe on this planet I am the alien. The alien is covered in fur and has large pointed ears. He stands a bit shorter than me, probably about five feet tall. Some of his facial features look a bit cat-like, though his eyes are more human like, a bit larger than normal compared to the size of his face, and they are green. He is looking at me with a rather surprised look on his face. He says to watch where I'm going, but doesn't really sound upset. I tell him I'm sorry and then head off to my left after making sure I'm not about to walk into anyone else. I have been waiting for my head to clear, but it has in fact gotten worse. I have quite a headache, so I sit down up against a light pole not far off. I close my eyes and lean back against the pole. I wait a couple minutes for my head to clear, which starts happening. I hear footsteps in front of me and then I hear the voice of the robot from earlier. He says excuse me, then asks if I am ok. He says he couldn't help but notice my vital signs are not normal. I open my eyes and see the small robot looking at me, the covers on his eyes like eyelids give him a concerned expression. Somewhere in my mind I am becoming lucid, and my spontaneous response is that nothing about me is normal… but thanks, I'll be fine. The alien I walked into earlier comes up behind the robot and asks what is going on, he calls the robot Clank. Now I can see he has a rather long tail with a tuft at the end of it and is colored like an orange tabby cat. My head is clearer and now I am feeling more embarrassed than disoriented. I pull myself to my feet, willing my head to stay clear. Now the place smells like a fart. A rancid fart. I look around and see the alien is also sniffing the air. He looks over at me and is apparently thinking the same thing, because he says it wasn't him, he thought it was me. People around us are now pointing up, screaming, and running around. The robot and the alien look up, I hear the alien ask what that is. I look up and see a space ship hovering over the city. The smell gets worse, causing me to feel light headed again. There is a blinding flash of light and then darkness.

I regain consciousness to find I am hanging upside down. I look up and see I am suspended by an energy tether. Hanging upside down has caused blood to flow to my head, and my mind is now clear. I look around and see there are others there with me. The first one I notice is a large, stupid looking guy dressed in green spandex… ugh… Qwark… from the Ratchet and Clank video game series. He has somehow become tangled up in his energy tether. He is hanging like a fish caught in a net. I can't help but laugh at that. On the other side of me is the alien from earlier… Ratchet… and the small robot from earlier… Clank. Qwark struggles pointlessly and ends up even more entangled. He announces that he is almost loose. I laugh again. He gives me a dirty look and asks what I'm laughing at. Apparently Ratchet has noticed Qwark and is not happy to see him. He is pissed off that Qwark is still alive when Ratchet claims to have blown him to pieces. Qwark says he cannot die. He adds that when he gets loose he'll be the one to get out of there, while Ratchet and his little trash can will be stuck there. He wiggles some more and then ends up with his face practically up his own butt. I end up laughing more. He says he sees I can't take my eyes off of him… and he can't blame me considering how good looking he is. I think I might vomit now. He says we can get out of here together and go somewhere that we can be alone. I do vomit. Some gross dark reddish stuff splatters on the floor below. I wonder what the fuck I have been eating to puke up stuff that looks like that. It's moving. I can control it. Of course. It's biomass. My biomass. I am no longer human in the dream state, I am more like Alex Mercer… I am a virus.

Qwark has gone silent now and is looking at my vomited biomass with a grossed out look on his face. Ok… use the biomass. It forms a tendril and reaches over to a control panel at the edge of the room. I use the tendril to operate the controls and deactivate the tethers. Ratchet falls on his face. Clank drops slowly using a rotor like a helicopter. Qwark lands right on his head with a loud crack and falls over, dazed. His face is still practically up his own ass. I land on my face. My biomass returns to me and I reabsorb it. Ratchet gets up quickly and pulls a huge wrench type thing from… um… I'm not sure where from… and charges at Qwark with it. He completely ignores Clank saying maybe we should find a way out of here first and starts pounding the shit out of Qwark. For the first few hits Qwark doesn't respond at all, perhaps still dazed from landing on his head. When he finally does respond, he responds like a total wuss and curls up into a ball. Ratchet is telling him to get up and fight back! Qwark says he would but he sprained an ankle in that fall. Maybe they should arrange a match later… I ignore that for a bit and then I notice there is quite a bit of blood. That strikes me as odd at first… there's no blood in the Ratchet and Clank games… But this isn't a game. Ratchet is still pounding on Qwark, maybe even harder than before, and there is blood spattering everywhere. Clank seems a bit stunned and is keeping his distance. Is Ratchet actually trying to kill the idiot? Maybe… but he doesn't stay a bad guy. He'll always be stupid, but not evil. For that to happen he has to stay in one piece.

So I stand up and use a tendril to pull Ratchet off of Qwark. Ratchet turns around and starts attacking my tendril. Qwark peeks out of his ball hesitantly. Ratchet sticks his wrench weapon somewhere, still not sure where… hammer space? Up his ass? Then he pulls a large gun out of the same nowhere. I see that just in time to use a second tendril to take it away before Ratchet blasts a huge hole in Qwark's face. Ratchet reaches for the gun but my tendril pulls it out of reach quickly. Qwark is trying to get up but he seems to be pretty badly hurt and collapses again. He says something about a maniac but I can't quite understand him. Ratchet is telling me to let go of him. I ignore him for now, trying to think what the situation is. I hear a clanking noise by my feet. I look over and see Ratchet smirking at me. There is an explosion that knocks me against the wall. I look back over at Ratchet and see him throw another bomb in my direction, I use biomass to surround it and contain the explosion. Instead of a big boom this one makes more of a pop crossed with a poof. Ratchet is clearly pissed at me and asks who I am and why am I working with Qwark. I tell him I'm not working with anyone, and if he would cut it out for just ten fucking minutes I could figure out what was going on. Something is clearly not right, and I would have to figure out what had happened BEFORE someone gets pounded into a bloody pulp or blasted to bits. Ratchet tries to pull away from my tendril for a bit and then finally reluctantly says he'll stop attacking Qwark… for now. My tendril releases him. I look at the gun in my other tendril for a bit, wondering again where Ratchet had kept it before taking it out. I decide maybe I don't want to know. I figure he probably has several more anyway, so I return it to its owner. He puts it away and just glares over at Qwark.

I watch Ratchet for a bit longer to be sure he is going to stick to his word, then back to figuring out what is going on. Apparently someone from outside the dimension has been screwing things up. Who would do that? The first name into my mind is Robert de Sable. Templars. They have tried to screw up other dimensions before. By killing random Altaïrs, passing out dark energy to people who can't handle it. And he would surely be watching. "ROBERT!" I call to him, "ROBERT DE SABLE! SHOW YOURSELF, YOU FLAKEY CHICKEN-WUSS!" I get no answer, though everyone there is now staring at me. Qwark has managed to move around a bit to position himself so that I am between him and Ratchet. I give him my best version of Vegeta's "That's pathetic." look. Clank asks who this Robert de Sable is. I tell him that Robert is the one I think is responsible for this. A Templar bastard that loves fucking things up in other dimensions for some unknown reason. Well, this should be easy enough to fix. Just send everyone back to where they belong, starting with Qwark, since his presence is the most likely to create issues… and I don't want to look at him. I focus on opening a portal to where Qwark should be. Nothing happens. Damn it! They're blocking portals, now I am completely convinced it is Robert. Why do Templars always have to do things the hard way?

Qwark says something quietly to me about needing nanotech. I ask what that is, then I remember it is for healing. I say I got something better… but he'd better not do anything stupid. It occurs to me that I am doing something stupid by expecting someone as stupid as Qwark to refrain from doing something stupid. So after reiterating that I don't want Qwark to do anything stupid (as if repeating it would help) I use some healing energy on him. That gets me a dirty look from Ratchet but nothing more. It gets a very interested look from Clank. I scan the area to see if I can find any sign of Robert. I can sense his energy in the area. I am locking in on it when I see Qwark is doing something stupid. He has moved around the outside edge of the circular room a bit. I'm not sure if he is trying to get behind Ratchet or trying to leave the room, neither one is ok. I use a tendril to put Qwark on a leash around his waist. He pulls at the tendril but my virus makes me stronger than him. I comment that I guess expecting him to refrain from doing something stupid is expecting way too much. There is a definite pause before he gives me a dirty look. Ratchet seems amused, though.

Back to scanning for Robert. Found him. I focus on teleporting him into the room. That works. Robert de Sable appears in front of me. He looks at me in an annoyed manner. He asks if I have to stick my nose in everywhere it doesn't belong. I tell him he is the one that needs to keep his abnormally large nose out of other people's business. But there won't be any wasting time this time. Consume Robert and find out what the Templars are up to. I wrap tendrils all around Robert and prepare to consume him. But there is nothing there! Robert isn't really there, he is just an illusion! A hologram created from Robert's own energy frequency to make him initially look real. I ask if he is seriously too much of a pathetic chicken-wuss to come out and show himself. He says he knows perfectly well what I can do now, and he's not just going to let me do it. He says he is sorry he has to go so quickly, but he has other places to attend to. He says I can't be everywhere at once and then laughs before the image vanishes. I yell at him to come back here, you flakey jerk! But he is gone. Qwark says Robert must have been afraid to face him. It's a good thing I was holding him back or he would have showed that robber a thing or two. I repeat the name to Qwark… Not robber, Robert. Robert de Sable. And you might have killed him… he just might have died laughing. He looks at me blankly. I just roll my eyes.

With Robert gone, I try to open a portal. Still nothing. It looks like we'll have to get out of here the old fashion way. I access the computer. The good news is we're still in the right dimension. Different galaxy, but there is a wormhole within range that would get all of us back to Ratchet and the others' home galaxy. And there are ships docked in the landing bay that can make the trip since there's no way everyone can fit in my Fire Valkyrie. Well Ratchet and Clank would fit in the one extra seat… and I could always strap Qwark to the roof… my Penticon could surround him with a force field to keep him alive… I chuckle to myself, but that stops short when the dream seems to become unstable. Am I going to wake up now? Now isn't a good time for me to disappear. I have the idea that Qwark would ditch Ratchet and Clank behind if given the slightest chance, and Ratchet would blow Qwark to subatomic particles if he got his chance first… I focus and manage to stabilize the dream. I look around and see Ratchet is looking at me really strangely. He asks if I am ok, he said I turned transparent there for a bit. Clank says his sensors detected a dimensional anomaly, but it is gone now. Ok, well the other three can get home just fine using one of the ships in the docking bay. The only problem would be making sure they work together. I look between Qwark and Ratchet, I figure Clank would be reasonable about it. I know Qwark doesn't stay a bad guy throughout the series, he changes. So let's just make that happen a tiny bit sooner.

I focus on the song Touch My Heart to restore the spark inside Qwark to a flame, it isn't hard to do since it was intended to happen on its own anyhow. I think it's a good thing I can fix evil, now too bad I can't fix stupid. Usually a healing spell also affects the way others respond to the person I healed, but just to make sure I send some positive energy through Ratchet as well. Clank didn't seem to think anything about what I was doing to Qwark, but he wants to know what I am doing to Ratchet… I tell him it's a good thing, positive energy. Don't worry, it'll make him feel good. Clank watches closely, but doesn't say anything when he sees Ratchet has no negative reaction. Qwark looks disoriented, though. He is muttering something about helping Chairman Drek meant he hadn't become the hero he'd wanted to be, instead he'd been a villain… I comment if it means anything, I think he was more of a hindrance to Drek than a help. He seems to like that idea at first and then gives me a strange look.

I feel the dream slipping again, and I barely manage to stabilize it. Ratchet says it happened again, I almost disappeared. Clank says that was also when the dimensional anomaly returned. I tell him I know what is happening, it's no big deal, but I have to hurry. I have a computer chip in my head… and its going to download some files directly to Clank. Basically the location of the docking bay and how to get there while encountering as few of the aliens that own this ship as possible… I have a feeling they will be hostile when encountered. And also it contains the location of the wormhole back to their galaxy. It also has the location where they need to drop Qwark off to minimize the effect this mess has on the timeline. Clank seems to understand all of that just fine. Ratchet wants to know if I'm sure they can trust Qwark. I tell him I am a soul healer, I healed some negativity in Qwark's heart so yeah, he can be trusted to not be an asshole. I add that if I could only heal stupid then everything would be great. I am trying to think if there is anything else I need to do before I wake up, but then the dream becomes unstable again. This time I can't stop it… I wake up.

12/19/13

Ratchet and Clank: Assassin's Creed Version
I am in a strange place. I look around, but I don't recognize anything about it. It looks like a different planet. There are green plants, a flowing stream, and blue skies, but the plants look foreign to me. If it were just the plants then I might just be in a kind of forest I have never seen, but there are two moons hanging in the sky, and that confirms that I am definitely on a different planet. I have no idea why I might be here so I start wandering around. I walk over to the stream and look into the water. The water is so clear that I can see the bottom. It looks clearer than any stream I have seen in my waking life. I walk away from the stream and continue exploring. There are some animals that scurry out of my path before I get a good look at them. Without really thinking about it I call out to them that I won't hurt them, come back so I can see them. Of course they don't respond. I follow a path that runs alongside the stream as it goes through a canyon and into another clear area where there is a lake. I walk over beside the lake and sit down. Maybe Avalon is telling me I need to go somewhere restful and relax for a while. This place certainly looks like it fits the bill. I look into the water where I see some golden fish with long flowing fins swimming around. It is definitely very relaxing.

I hear a sound behind me but I don't pay any attention. I am too relaxed and the sound is pretty innocuous, so I am not alarmed. Then I get hit with a blast of unstable dark energy. The blast knocks me sprawling on my face. What the fuck? The effect of the unstable dark energy is that I am immediately pissed off. I jump to my feet and turn towards the source of the attack, ready to let loose an attack of my own against what I am assuming is a Templar. But there is no Templar… instead there is a rather short furry guy there. (Ratchet from Ratchet and Clank, but I don't recognize him.) He has large pointed ears and some cat-like features, and a long tail ending in a tuft like a lion. He is standing on 2 feet like a person and has a big gun in his hands that is pointed at me. He looks pissed off. My first response is to ask, "Who the fuck are…" but he fires another blast from the gun, also dark energy. Ok… now I think slicing him into pieces is definitely in order… but something inside me tells me that is just the unstable energy talking, he is probably attacking me due to being infected with the dark energy he is using. So I look away from him, reciting some Disturbed lyrics to stabilize my energy. "I've held on too long just to let it go now. Will my inner strength get me through this somehow? Defying a curse that has taken hold, never surrender, I'll never be overcome." I feel the dark energy stabilize and join my own supply of dark energy. The furry guy asks what I have done with some 'him' that I have no idea what he is talking about.

I send a tendril (Witchblade? Viral powers?) out to snag the gun away from him. That is unexpected and I get the gun easily. I look back over at the furry guy who now looks like he expects me to turn around and shoot him with the gun. No… he has enough dark energy already. Instead I start poking around the weapon to find the dark shard that must power it. The furry guy is making fun of me for not knowing how to use my own weapon. I tell him this thing isn't mine… I am not paying attention to him, and he pulls out a smaller gun and shoots the one I took from him. It explodes in my hands. I comment that I guess that's one way to get into it… My white Assassin's robes are now black from the blast. I turn them back white. The furry guy doesn't seem to know what to do now, so he resumes demanding to know where someone named Clank is. I find the dark shard in the wreckage of the weapon. It is a genuine dark shard, and it looks like someone deliberately made it unstable. Whoever gave this guy this weapon definitely doesn't care who he exposes to the dark energy, though he may or may not have been specifically targeting this furry guy.

I turn my attention back to the furry guy and ask him where he got the weapon and the shard. I use my Eagle Vision to scan him for dark energy. He has only a minimal amount of it in him. He should be ok. He says the same person that told him what I did to Clank… now where is he? I ask him if the person who gave him the gun bothered telling him that the energy it uses is very dangerous and will corrupt and destroy anyone and anything it comes in contact with, including the person wielding it? He seems to hesitate a bit at that as if maybe questioning the person who had given him the gun. While he is pausing, I add that I have no idea who this Clank person is. Maybe I shouldn't have said that because it seems to get him upset again. He said my friend has already given me away. I ask what friend? Did the coward even give a name before sending someone else off to do his dirty work? The furry guy pauses again, then says the person's name is Robert. I do a double take, then ask if he means Robert de Sable? He says I do know who he's talking about. He says Robert told him I have Clank, and he wants him back now! I can't help but laugh… which isn't good, it just pisses the furry guy off more… I force myself to stop and then say Robert de Sable is a Templar. And there's an easy way to tell when a Templar is lying… their lips are moving! Of course he doesn't know what a Templar is. I add that Robert himself is probably the one who kidnapped Clank!

Now that the puzzle seems solved to me, I call out to Robert de Sable. I am sure he must be in the area to see if his plan has worked. "He, Robert! Come out and show yourself, you chicken-wuss! And bring back Clank with you!" I get no response. The furry guy is looking around to see if anyone answers. I loudly call Robert a chicken-wuss a few more times. No response. I tell the furry guy that I absolutely did not do anything with his friend Clank… and if the Templar bastards did, I will make sure and get him back. I return to addressing Robert, "Hey, Robert, you chicken-wuss! Come out and play! Or don't you have the balls to face me?!" I tell the furry guy that is a common aspect of Templars… the lack of balls in the males. I say it loudly enough for Robert to hear if he is listening. I comment to the furry guy that when Robert first met my friend Altaïr, he shit his pants. The furry guy says he doesn't care about Robert and Altaïr, he just wants Clank back! I tell him Clank could show up at any time… Robert is probably scared of him. I say this hoping Clank is a little guy that couldn't hurt a fly so I will be implying Robert is a mega-chicken-wuss. I tell the furry guy that I'm surprised Robert had the balls to approach him! I've seen Robert running in terror from a kitten…

Finally it seems Robert has had enough. He comes from behind a strange tree and looks pissed. He says us Assassins are the ones that sneak around in the dark. I tell him at least there has never been an Assassin so afraid to do his own mission that he tricks a… um… I point at the furry guy, who seems surprised I've never seen a lombax before. I tell him I am from very, very far away. I continue taunting Robert, no Assassin is so afraid to do his own mission that he tricks some lombax into doing his dirty work while he hides in fear! I ask him if he really thought that dark energy gun would kill me. He is mad now, and he blurts out a lot. He says the gun wasn't supposed to kill me! He says I was supposed to blast that damn lombax into subatomic particles and feed my negative energy to grow to astronomical proportions… He says I have already said I wanted to do it, so why didn't I do it?! I tell Robert to lay off the drugs… I don't even know this lombax… however I'd be glad to blast Robert into subatomic particles… bit by bit until he produces Clank. Of course now the lombax is pissed off at Robert instead of me. Robert is ignoring him. Robert seems shocked that I say I don't know the lombax. He is having a child's tantrum. He says I was the one who was planning out a hundred and one ways to kill Ratchet the Lombax! Ratchet… Clank… I curse myself silently for not realizing the source game sooner, but then it's not even a game I have played!

I am trying to figure out the easiest way to find out what Robert knows about the location of Clank. Probably to just consume him. Take care of two problems. Find Clank, and no more Robert de Sable. Now to keep him distracted while I get a bit closer… I see the lombax… Ratchet… is now looking at me strangely, probably in response to Robert's claiming I was coming up with a hundred and one ways to kill him. I remember having negative energy last night, and that will often focus itself in seemingly random directions, but I have no interest attacking Ratchet now. I focus my attention back on Robert… slowly closing the distance between us. I have to manage to consume him before he can disappear like he has a habit of doing. I act like I pity Robert. I say he should know my negativity from waking life doesn't affect me in the dream state… you silly Templar. Now stop screwing things up in dimensions where he doesn't belong… which would be all of them! I see movement, Ratchet has disappeared from sight. That surprises me that he would leave without knowing if Robert has Clank. I decide it doesn't matter, I have ways of finding him if I recover Clank. Back to Robert. Move closer.

I get closer still. Robert says I might as well give up, all the Assassins should give up, there is no way the Assassins can… GAAH! Robert is on fire! His cape and robes flare up as if he was soaked in gasoline. What the… then I see Ratchet behind him pointing a gun of some kind at Robert. Robert turns around to see what just happened, blazing with fire, but no doubt being protected from serious harm by his dark energy. He is now raging at Ratchet, saying there won't be so much as a scrap of fur left… now! He's distracted! I rush at Robert and extend viral tendrils to wrap around and consume him. He turns and glares at me, calling me a fool and saying there's nothing I can do to hurt him! But I am already consuming him! It's working! But then there is an explosion of dark energy that sends me flying backwards to slam hard into a cliff. I hear him raging at me now. He says I need to keep my fucking freak tendrils to myself. I get up from the ground where I fell after hitting the cliff. I hear him laugh. He tells Ratchet that it is my fault that his friend is now scrap metal. He vanishes in a blast of black smoke.

Ratchet runs out to where Robert was just standing, yelling at him to bring Clank back and more than a few expletives that would increase the age rating of the Ratchet and Clank games if it was included. "Come back here, you flakey jerk!" I yell after Robert. Damn! Gone again! Ratchet is yelling at me now, wanting to know where Robert went, saying he has to get Clank back before it's too late! Find Robert. I use Through the Never focused on locating Robert and Clank. My portal is being pulled in two different directions and doesn't form. So Robert doesn't have Clank… at least not right now. Ratchet seems to be very worried about Clank, so I focus the portal on him. A portal opens. I see through the portal to where there is a strange looking robot that looks like it was built by idiots… maybe by Templars. I also see Clank there, though he appears to be shut down. The robot looks surprised to see my portal open. He looks through and sees me and asks who the fuck I am. I tell him that is not important… the important thing is that he hand over that little robot behind him. He says it's not going to happen. I get pissed off at this guy quickly. "Listen here, you clinking clanking clattering collection of caliginous junk! I am not in the mood to be fucked with! Now step aside or be recycled!" I send tendrils through the portal to wrap around Clank. I am pulling Clank through the portal when the other robot tries to grab him. Another tendril delivers an electrical shock directly to the robot making him let go. I pull Clank through the portal. I tell the robot on the other side to tell Robert de Sable that he'll have to do much better than this to get the Assassins to give up… and STOP FUCKING UP OTHER DIMENSIONS! He looks at me strangely and I hear him say, "Robert de WHO?" before the portal closes. I briefly hope I'm not the one fucking up the dimension by interfering where I don't belong…

Oh, well… it's too late to do anything about it now. Ratchet doesn't help my questioning the effect I have had on this dimension when he says someone named Dr. Nefarious was sure pissed. "Doctor WHO? Is he a Templar?" Ratchet looks at me strangely. I look at the lifeless Clank. I access my Penticon chip and tell it to do a diagnostic scan. The Penticon responds that this is a simple system re-start, but he can recommend a few upgrades. I tell him Robert's and my presence in this dimension has interfered with things enough already without him leaving a super-computer version of Clank behind. Just fix him. There is some grumbling from the Penticon. Ratchet asks if Clank is ok. I tell him Clank will be fine, as soon as he wakes up. A short time passes and then Clank wakes up with some strange noises and beeps. I tell Ratchet that his friend should be fine now. I know I am about to wake up. I wonder what Robert thought to accomplish with this little mess he tried to make… I am not sure, all I know is where there are Templars there will be trouble close behind. I wake up.

06/28/13

Dreamscape 2
I wake up in bed and roll over. I am not in my own bed. Something soft and furry is curled up beside me. I reach over and pet it. It responds with a, "Pika!" and a purr. I sit up in the bed and look around. I am back in the bedroom of Dreamscape. I see the black cat sitting on a chair not far from the bed. I get up out of bed and almost trip on the Buddha statue that is sitting on the floor. I curse myself silently for forgetting it. I see there is a journal on the floor near the statue. The cat on the chair meows. I go over to the cat and pet it. The cat begins to purr. There is a knock on the door to the room. I go over to the door and ask who's there. For a minute there is no answer… and then finally someone says that he is my neighbor coming for a visit. I think he is probably a Templar. I don't really want to let a Templar inside my Dreamscape. There is another knock at the door. It is getting a bit more impatient. I think about it for a bit longer, thinking there was some reason I wanted to let them in but I am not able to remember why I would do that. They are pounding on the door now. I finally decide to follow my instinct. I open the door and get out of the way. Two Templars practically tumble into the room. They turn around and look at me. One of them looks around the room and asks if this is where I have been hiding the artifacts. I ask them what they want here. One of them looks back over at me. Before anyone can answer, however, I see another person enter through the door which I had not bothered closing. I look over at the new arrival and recognize him as Alex Mercer from the Prototype game.

I do a double take at that… Great… now my Dreamscape is infested with Templars and a viral shape-shifter. One of the Templars asks Alex who he is. The other one says he has a proposal for me, one he hopes I will not refuse. The Templar talking to Alex tells Alex to get lost, this is not his concern, and pushes him towards the door. I tell the Templar that he really doesn't want to piss Alex off. He asks what Alex is going to do about it? Fight him? Huh? Wanna fight? He says he'll kick Alex's ass right out the… He is interrupted when Alex grabs him and quite quickly consumes him. The Templar talking to me has continued talking, but I have not been listening. He stops now and stares at Alex, saying, "What the fuck?!" He takes a couple steps away from Alex, but he doesn't move quickly enough to avoid getting grabbed by Alex. All he gets out is, "Oh, shit…" before he, too, is consumed. Alex is just standing there looking at me, and all that comes to mind to say is that was truly disgusting as I look at the bloody mess on the floor of my Dreamscape bedroom. I go over to the door and look out, calling out to ask if anyone else wants to come on in. No? Good. I close the door. I turn around to find I'm looking directly at Alex… and he is holding the black cat. I do a double take at that and then head towards the other side of the room. Alex says something about Abstergo being associated with Gentek… I comment a Templar by any other name is still a fucking Templar. I look around and see the door that leads to the hallway on the Dreamscape website.

I go through that door and see it leads to a long hallway that has no doors on either side. I head down the hall, Alex follows me. The black cat jumps from his arms and runs down the hall at top speed. I wonder if the cat is leading me somewhere. I think that if he is, he needs to slow down a bit. I hurry faster to follow the cat. Alex stays right with me. I glance over at him, wondering what he is after, but then I wake up.

06/21/13

Dreamscape
I wake up in bed and roll over to go back to sleep. I don't even open my eyes. There is a soft furry animal curled up next to me. I reach over and pet the animal, assuming it is going to be my kitty Midna. I am surprised when the animal says, "Pika," instead of, "Meow." A pikachu? I still have my eyes closed, but it looks like it is light in the room. I often sleep in late in the morning so it isn't unusual for there to be some light in the room, but it seems brighter than I am used to. Did I somehow leave the light on? I open my eyes and find I am looking at an unfamiliar room. It is a rather comfortable looking room. There is a table and chair in the middle of the room, I spot a black cat on the chair but it is not my black cat Shadow. I can tell this because this black cat has short hair where Shadow has long hair. The cat sits there patiently as if waiting for something. I look at the animal by my side and see it is indeed a sleeping pikachu.

He wakes up, lifts his head, looks around the room and tips one ear as if also unfamiliar with the location. I get out of the bed, turning back a floral blanket and almost tripping over a small statue of Buddha on the floor. If I didn't know better I'd think the cat snickers at me. There is also a journal on the floor with a pen. That gets my attention and I reach for it. I am just about to pick it up when someone knocks at the door. It seems like a friendly patient knock at first but it rapidly becomes impatient and then angry. Someone outside is telling me to open the door, they know I'm in here. The black cat has jumped to the back of the chair and is looking at the door and hissing with its back arched and fur fluffed out. There is more banging at the door. I go over to the chair and stroke the cat gently to calm it down.

I tell the cat not to worry, there's no way I'm letting those crazy people in… they're probably Templars. Of all the neighbors to have, did my new place have to have Templars as neighbors? I call out and ask if they’re Templars. There is a pause in the knocking. Two people answer at the same time. One says yes, the other says no, and then calls the first one an idiot. The first one replies that there's no way I could not know they're Templars. I tell them to go away, I can't let them in. One of them asks why. I answer that it seems most every time I meet Templars in my dream I end up having to kill them… and I don't want blood on my new carpet, certainly not Templar blood… so make it easier on everyone and go away. In the relative silence since the Templars stopped pounding on the door I notice the black cat has relaxed and is now purring as I stroke it. There is silence from outside the door for a bit and I wonder if the Templars might have actually taken my suggestion to just leave me alone. My hopes for that are dashed when there is another knock at the door. I am still stroking the black cat when I wake up.

06/01/13

Templars in the Shadows
I am in a strange place. I look around to see where I am. I don't recognize the place. I leave the small room I find myself in to find I am in a large gathering hall. There are quite a few people there. All of them are Assassins. I see a reflection and I realize I am also dressed as an Assassin, so I fit right in. I wonder why I might be there. I start to wander among the Assassins to see if I can find out. I finally spot a familiar face. Ezio is off to my right talking to an Assassin I don't recognize.

I keep looking around and I spot an Assassin that looks off somehow. I get closer to him and I see he seems to be surrounded by an aura of dark energy. That's not normal for an Assassin. I get closer to the strange Assassin. I catch a glimpse of his eyes. They are solid black. That is definitely wrong. He pays no attention to me. He seems to be focused on Ezio. He moves silently up behind Ezio. No one seems to be taking notice of him. Apparently no one else can see the dark energy. He is standing right behind Ezio now. He is about to stab Ezio with his hidden blade but I get him first. The dark energy Assassin collapses, dead. Someone calls to Ezio to look out and someone grabs me from behind. Apparently they think I'm the attacker here... Ezio turns around and looks at me. The other Assassins are telling Ezio I was trying to kill him. Ezio just looks puzzled. He says no, that's Raven, there must be some other explanation. One of the other Assassins points at the dead Assassin and says I just killed him. As if on cue, the dead Assassin changes into smoke and disappears. Assassins are all staring. I hear people muttering, asking what that was. Ezio wants to know what that was. I tell him it was a shadow Templar in disguise. He had been about to stab Ezio in the back. Ezio says that doesn't make sense, either. Ezio says he just recruited that guy, and when he checked him out he was definitely not a Templar. I wonder if maybe the dark energy can somehow fool Ezio's eagle vision. Since he's not used to seeing it. I wonder how to test that theory. I would have to find another disguised shadow Templar. But where would I find one? I look around the room. There are quite a few Assassins, but none of them look out of place. No sign of dark... wait... I spot someone in the corner with a dark energy aura. A female Assassin who is trying to blend with the rest of the group.

I get closer to Ezio. A couple other Assassins don't seem to want me too close to Ezio, they block my way. Ezio comes over closer to me. I point over to where the shadow Templar is and ask Ezio if he sees anything out of place over there. The shadow Templar is with a group of four Assassins. Ezio looks over there and says he only sees a group of five Assassins. Another Assassin tells Ezio not to trust me, what happened to the dead Assassin is just proof of my evil tricks. Ezio doesn't pay any attention to him. He asks me what he should be looking for. I tell him dark energy, one of them is a shadow Templar in disguise. And it's a good disguise. Ezio looks over there for a bit longer. An Assassin pulls me away from Ezio and tells him that the traitor is right here, I am clearly the Templar here. Ezio says no, he is sure I'm no Templar. The other Assassin starts to object again but it is clear Ezio isn't paying any attention to him. Ezio just looks at him until he lets go of my arm and backs off looking frustrated. Ezio turns his attention back to the group of Assassins I pointed out. The question is how to get Ezio to see dark energy. I am focused on that goal when I think of the song Unforgiven II by Metallica. I take this key and I bury it in you... the key to seeing dark energy. Ezio finally says he does see something. The woman, second from the right, has a dark aura... but why didn't he see that sooner? I tell him it can take time to see dark energy when you're not used to it. He starts to go over to the shadow Templar. I tell him to wait, now that he sees them he needs the energy that can destroy them. In a pocket of my robes I find a Witchblade with a light energy crystal which I give to Ezio. He puts it on and then goes over to the small group of five Assassins and I follow him. He directly addresses the shadow Templar. The shadow Templar tries to act casually but looks a bit worried. She points at me and says she can't believe someone she thought was an Assassin had turned traitor like that. Ezio says I am no traitor... and he can see what she is. She backs away a step but then laughs. She gives up all pretense of being an Assassin. She says there is no way the Assassins can win with the power she and the Templars have now. She tries to attack Ezio but he is too fast and stabs her with his hidden blade. She laughs and says she can't be killed. Then the gem in the Witchblade activates and charges the blade with light energy. The shadow Templar stops laughing and says that is impossible just before she collapses and disappears in a puff of smoke. Ezio looks over at me and asks if I see any more. I look around and I don't. I tell Ezio that, and add that now that he has seen one he should be able to see them a lot more easily. He asks where these Templars are coming from. I tell him I can answer his questions but not now, I am about to wake up. He looks at me strangely then I wake.

05/29/13

Winter Shield
I am in a place I don't recognize. I have somehow become semi-lucid without remembering how it happened. I look around and I see Nomad sleeping in a bed. He is there holding Winter. I stand and watch them sleep for a while, thinking they look peaceful together and feeling lonely that there is no one in this dimension meant for me. I am lost in my own thoughts when I see that I am not the only one watching them. I look around and see there are Templars everywhere. I am not sure what they are doing there but I am sure they are up to no good. I drop an Immortal Fire spell right near Nomad and Winter. The explosion of energy incinerates all the Templars in its path. When the energy fades I see all of the Templars are gone. I look back at Nomad and Winter, feeling a little better. Being alone doesn't mean I have to give in to the Templars. I wait for a bit longer and Nomad wakes up, or more accurately he enters the dream. He looks up at me. I tell him he had been surrounded by Templars, but I got rid of them. We can get right to putting up a shield around Winter. He agrees that is a good idea, first we'll have to go into her inner world. He says he isn't sure what condition the place is in… Since I have never been in there I let Nomad take both of us into Winter's inner dream world. Once we are in Winter's inner world I see that it is in complete chaos. The place is on fire, and there are dream demons flying everywhere. Nomad looks around and then says the dream demons are only DC's. That means her inner world has fortunately not been invaded as it appears. The dream demon DC's are making things a bit chaotic so I focus on two songs at once. Enter Sandman to create a cyclone of energy and Black Hole Sun to draw all of the free flying dream demons into the center of that cyclone. There is a large explosion in the center of the cyclone and the DC dream demons are destroyed. I look around and see Nomad holding on to Winter. I focus on the song Blitzkrieg by Metallica in order to form a defensive shield around all of Winter's inner world.

After that is done I focus on the song Full Moon Light to spread healing energy throughout the place. It flows to all areas of Winter's inner world as well as through Nomad and Winter. Nomad looks upset by something. I ask him if Winter is ok. He says we need to go to the healing glen. I open a portal to the healing glen and we go through it. We are greeted by the Crystal Golem. We all sit down in the tall grass, Nomad is holding Winter close to him. The birds are singing, there are butterflies flitting around as well as some other iridescent insects. An angel is singing a healing song. For some reason the healing energy isn't making me feel any better, I am feeling more alone than ever. So I get up and leave, walking through the tall grass until I come to a small pond.

I sit down on the banks of the pond and look out over the water wishing I didn't feel like crying. But I am alone… so it's ok to cry. So I sit there and cry silently. I don't know how long it has been before someone is beside me. He asks if I am ok. I instinctively try to wipe the tears away, it is a habit for me to not want to be seen crying. He doesn't say anything more, he sits down beside me and puts his arm around me, pulling me close. Somehow the fact someone came to check on me makes me want to cry more, people don't do that in my waking life. I look to my side and see Altaïr is the one sitting beside me. We sit there for a bit until I hear strange noises behind me. Nomad is there, says something about smoking a joint. Winter is playing around with some kind of ninja powers. Nomad says we have to find Ezio. Altaïr says he already knows where to find Ezio. The Ezio we are looking for is from the same world he is from, just a different time period. He said he scouted the area and caught sight of a shadow templar disguising himself as Altaïr, but he disappeared before Altaïr could stop him. A fake Altaïr… that would explain the visions I got of Ezio and Altaïr fighting, it was no doubt the fake Altaïr. Good to know since between Ezio and Altaïr I would tend to choose Altaïr. I wake up, and for a few seconds I still feel Altaïr's arm around me as if he had come out of the dream with me.
 
Shadow Ambush
I am in a city I don't recognize. I look around but I don't see anything that can help me recognize the place. Something about it reminds me of a city from a video game, so I decide I must be testing out the latest virtual reality system. So I set to exploring the town. There are quite a few people wandering the streets but I don't recognize any of them and none of them seem to notice me. I continue wandering until I find several guards that seem to be bullying one man, pushing him around, threatening him… I figure it is probably an optional task to teach those bullies a lesson. So I check for weapons and find I have a sword and a hidden blade. Good enough. I go over to the guards and tell them they had better leave that man alone. The guards laugh at me and tell me I had better move along if I don't want to get hurt. I tell them I don't see anyone around that could hurt me, but this is their last chance to back off. The guards just laugh at me. One of them says maybe they should put me in my place. The guards are now surrounding me, there are five of them. The guy that had been being bullied takes the opportunity to run away. Jerk… he won't even stick around to offer a reward for helping him? Well, kicking these guys' asses should be a reward in itself. The guards are around me with their swords drawn so I draw my own sword. This brings more laughter. One of them laughs and says the little girl thinks she's going to be able to fight. One of them attacks me. I block his attack and then cut him down with a counter strike. The other guards seem surprised I was able to do that. The others attack me now, I dodge out of the middle of the group, using a counter strike to take another one out. Three left, and they're all attacking at once. I focus on one and use a counter strike, turning around quickly to find the two coming from behind me… are already dead? They haven't even hit the ground yet, and there is a man standing between them, the one who killed them.

I recognize that man as Ezio. He is looking at me strangely. Ok… taking out a few guards is easy, but I don't think I'm a high enough level to take on Ezio… but I don't have to. He comes over to me, it sounds like he is going to ask me to join the Assassins, but he gets interrupted by another Assassin running up to him. He says there is trouble, and Ezio is needed right away. Ezio follows the other Assassin quickly and I follow Ezio, since he's apparently going where the action is. We leave the main area of town and end up in a small glen of trees. The other Assassin has stopped and is just standing there. Ezio asks what is going on, who is in trouble? The other Assassin looks up with a really evil grin on his face and says Ezio is the one in trouble. There are Templars emerging from the trees. They all seem to be surrounded by dark auras. Shadow Templars! There are shadow Templars in this game? Then there had better also be magic to defeat them! Ezio is instantly ready to fight the new enemies. I tell him to wait just a second… then focus on the spell song Battery to summon a lightning bolt of light energy to charge Ezio's sword.

He looks at the sparking blade only briefly before attacking the shadow Templars. There are six shadow Templars including the one disguised as an Assassin. The Templar disguised as an Assassin is the first to fall to Ezio's blade. The others has been moving in, but when they see their friend go down so easily they seem to hesitate, giving strange glances at each other. I hear someone muttering about dark energy making them invincible… and a response of just kill them! Ezio takes out a Templar coming at him from in front and then one off to his right in one smooth motion. I manage to take out one attacking Ezio from behind and then counter strike the one attacking me. I turn around just in time to see Ezio cut down the last Templar. Ezio looks around to make sure there are no more Templars hiding in the trees and then over at me. He asks who I am… there was something strange about those Templars, what was it? All I end up tell him is my name… Raven Knight… then I feel like I am about to wake up. I find that disappointing. I don't want to return to my waking life. I realize I have spoken aloud, said I don't want to leave. Ezio says I don't have to go anywhere, but apparently it's not up to Ezio… I wake up.

05/26/13

The Haunting of Ezio Auditore
I am lying on my back in a green field of grass. I am looking up at a clear blue sky. I have entered this dream already lucid by way of a hypnosis program. I hear the music of Metallica playing in the distance, I fell asleep listening to Metallica. I get up and look around. I am alone in the field. I remember that the first goal was to do the usual healing. So I focus on opening a portal to the healing glen on the moon. A portal opens and I go through. On the other side I am near the healing springs. Nomad is already there, and Winter is floating in the water. I go over near Winter and focus on the song Voices to heal her. Healing energy flows through Winter, and through everyone at the healing springs. When we are finished with the healing I tell Nomad that we have to find Ezio. I remember a previous dream that indicated shadow Templars would be going after Ezio. I focus on opening a portal to find the instance of Ezio that needs help. I focus for a bit and finally a portal opens. Nomad immediately disappears through the portal, I follow after him. On the other side we are inside a building, it is night time. My first thought is that we are in one of the Assassin Dens or Assassin Towers off of Assassin's Creed Brotherhood or Revelations. I look around the room and I see there is someone in bed sleeping. It is too dark to see who it is. But there are strange figures standing over the bed. Five of them, two on each side of the bed and one at the foot of the bed. One of the figures near the sleeper's head takes out a glowing dagger and prepares to stab the sleeper. I yell at the figure to stop and jump over the sleeper to tackle the figure before it can stab the sleeper. I pass right through the figure and crash face-first into the floor. I look back at the figure. While I didn't succeed in tackling the figure, I did succeed in distracting it from the sleeper. I think I surprised the figure simply by being able to see it. Nomad tells me they are on the astral plane, I need to also be on the astral plane to fight them. As if to prove the point he transforms to be part panther and shreds one of the figures with massive claws.

The other figures turn from the sleeper towards Nomad. I have to be on the astral plane? I am unsure of how to switch planes like that… Nomad is fighting the figures. They are attacking him with strangely glowing weapons, astral weapons. I wonder how I can help if I can't shift planes. I form Witchblade into a sword, but it passes right through the figures without effect. Nomad has now torn another of the figures apart. I see the sleeper shift restlessly as if having a bad dream. I am getting frustrated at being ineffective. I attack a dark figure, this time charging my Witchblade sword with energy. That seems to have done the trick, and I slice one of them in half as Nomad shreds a fourth. The last one is coming at me and I am able to cut it down before it reaches me. I go over to the sleeper, who still looks uneasy in his sleep. I look closer at the sleeping man… I recognize him. Ezio Auditore from Assassin's Creed. I wonder how he could not have woken up during the time Nomad and I were fighting the intruders. I look closer and see Ezio is in an uneasy sleep. I hesitate, then I carefully try to wake him up. No response. I try a little harder. No response. Nomad says he thinks Ezio is being kept in a dream state by a dream demon. We need to go into his dream to allow him to wake up. That sounds a lot easier than trying to shift to the astral plane. I find a dream crystal in my pocket and I give one to Nomad. The gems activate and we are both beamed into Ezio's dream. Once we're in the dream I see Ezio's nightmare. There is a platform with some people tied to stakes, surrounded by kindling. A man up there is laughing and about to set the kindling ablaze, burning those people alive. Ezio is trying to get to them, fighting his way through a hoard of Templars but not making any progress.

It is clear he is desperate to reach those people before it's too late. I look around to see where the actual dream demon might be. I don't see any one enemy that stands out. Nomad says there are so many dream demons. I look around again, there must be the main dream demon somewhere. I finally spot that the man on the platform about to light the fire is the main dream demon. Nomad has charged into the group of Templars and is scattering them, throwing them through portals that form in the sky. I head straight for the man with the torch. When I get close enough I use the song Dream Warriors. The dream demon gets pissed off and transforms into a giant wraith. I look and see that Nomad has gotten rid of enough Templars that Ezio has reached the platform, though now he is staring at the wraith. I use another song, Enter Sandman by Metallica to create a cyclone of energy around the wraith. There is a large explosion as light and dark energies mix like matter and antimatter. As the wraith explodes there is a blinding flash of light and then the dream suddenly ends. I wake up in bed.

05/17/13

Labyrinth of Darkness
I am in a dark passage that looks like something out of a medieval dungeon. I am not exactly lucid, but I have the mindset that I am playing a video game. I somehow pull back and view my own character as if from outside. I am me, dressed in black Assassin's robes. I must be playing some new Assassin's Creed game. I go back to 1st person. I can sense where my target is, but this time it isn't a target to kill it's a target to rescue. If I can avoid being seen by the demons here I will be better off. This is a stealth mission. So I quietly sneak down the corridor, following the closest route to my target. I see movement down the corridor and I move into a dark alcove just in time to avoid being seen by a really ugly guard as he walks by.

With my dark robes he doesn't notice me at all. He looks a bit like a human sized troll… and he smells worse. I continue down the corridor, watchful for any other guards. I hear the screams of someone being tortured. Is that my target? I might have to fight to get him out after all. I follow the direction of the screams for a bit and I realize I am going the wrong way. But I am close to the source of the screams now… I have to check it out. I peek through an open door into a torture chamber with all sorts of nasty indescribable devices. There is a bald man chained to one of those devices being tortured with fire by three more of the troll things. They laugh every time he screams. I plan to go into the room and try to stealth assassinate two trolls at once and then hopefully get the third before he raises an alarm. I am about to do that when what looks like a demon enters the room and tells the trolls to back down. They immediately hurry away into a corner as if they are afraid they will be next to be tortured. The demon addresses the prisoner as Robert de Sable and says he must apologize for this treatment. I do a double take… the prisoner is a Templar leader? The demon says someone must have made a mistake, he had left explicit orders for Robert to be brought directly to see him as he has a business proposition. The demon acts as if he has just realized Robert is in pain, and waves one taloned hand. The scene shifts. Robert is now standing in front of the demon, no longer chained, and his wounds are healed, and he is in his usual Templar armor, I can recognize him now.

The demon says he wants Robert to work for him. Robert asks what if he doesn't want to. The demon says if the answer is no, he will simply go and leave Robert to his fate. The troll demons in the corner are muttering to each other. Robert immediately tells the demon not to go, he just wants to know what he would be doing for the demon. The demon grins evilly and says he only wants Robert to do what he likes to do best… kill Assassins. Robert mutters something about Altaïr. The demon laughs and says revenge against Altaïr may come later, but Robert's first target is actually one of Altaïr's descendents… an annoying Assassin by the name of Ezio Auditore. The demon says his power will allow Robert to crush Ezio like a small bug, but they would discuss details in a more suitable location. The trolls in the corner are hissing in anger, they want their prisoner back. The demon just glares at them and they cower back. Both the demon and Robert leave through an exit on the other side of the room. I think something should be done to keep them from going after Ezio, but I still believe I am playing a video game and I am not at a high enough level to challenge that demon. He would crush me like a small bug… So I make a mental note to find a way to help Ezio as I continue to track the target of my current mission. I finally find where my target is. A troll guard is standing by a prison cell door. I sneak quietly over to the cell door and stealth assassinate the troll guard with my hidden blade, charging the blade with light energy in order to make it more effective. I use a Harry Potter spell alohamora to unlock the cell door and I go inside. There is a man huddled in the corner under white robes. Is he an Assassin? He is my target. I go over and tell him I'm there to get him out. He says if he had any strength he could open a portal. I focus on transferring some energy to him. He looks up at me, now looking more like a wizard than an Assassin. He stands and opens a portal. I can see it leads to somewhere green and alive. He says to hurry before the demons sense the portal, they hate it when someone escapes the Dark Realm. He goes through the portal but before I can follow him I wake.

05/16/13

Escape From Jerusalem
I am lying on a blanket in the middle of a green field. I look up at the clouds passing through the blue sky, I see that one of them looks like a cat. I sit up and look around. I am by myself. I remember my dream plans. Healing. I have been making it a habit to do some healing on Nomad's girlfriend Winter to try to get her fibromyalgia under control. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be helping. But I guess I'm not ready to give up trying. So I open a portal to the healing springs on the moon. Nomad and Winter are already there, so I go through the usual process of healing with the song Voices. It makes me want to fall asleep in the dream, but I remember that there is another plan. To share an Assassin's Creed dream with SJ. As if he already knew what I wanted to do, Q appears and says he will send me to the proper instance of Jerusalem. He snaps his fingers and the scene around me changes. I am now standing in a back road of a city that looks like Jerusalem from Assassin's Creed. I am just missing SJ. I use the song Dream On by Aerosmith to initiate a shared dream. I focus on SJ, and after a bit a woman appears. She is dressed in dark Assassin robes and is looking around at the city but doesn't seem to notice me. I ask if she is SJ, she says yes. Now to find Altaïr. Of course that could be difficult in a place the size of Jerusalem, especially if he doesn't want to be found. I figure Q probably sent me to a place fairly close to Altaïr. SJ and I walk out into what looks like a busy market place.

There are vendors all around selling their wares, people buying, it is very crowded. I see what appears to be the main gate out of the city not far away. There are Templars blocking the way, which is getting quite a few people more than a little pissed off. I look around the area and I spot one of the game hiding places. Five robed scholars approaching the gate. But the middle one isn't quite right. The differences aren't nearly as visible as in the game, his weapons are mostly concealed beneath his robes. I can see the tip of the sword hanging down below the robes, but that is it. If I didn't know what I was looking for… The group of scholars approaches the gate and tries to pass through but the Templars block the way. After briefly arguing about it and then getting threatened with execution the group turns back into the market place. I see a bench nearby, so SJ sits on one end and I sit on the other. As I expected, Altaïr sits right between us and looks over at the gate, watching the Templars closely.

SJ is staring at Altaïr. Maybe he sees her from the corner of his eye or maybe he just senses her watching him, but Altaïr turns and looks at SJ. SJ hesitates briefly, then holds up her left hand with the ring finger bent over to indicate she is an Assassin. I can't see his face, and it is too loud to hear if he is speaking, so I don't know how he responds. But after a short time he turns and looks over at me. I copy SJ's hand gesture to indicate I am also an Assassin. He looks at me closely for a bit, perhaps checking my identity with his eagle vision. He seems satisfied that SJ and I are both Assassins. He says it is important that he get out of Jerusalem as quickly as possible before Robert de Sable meets with Richard. SJ indicates the gate. He asks if we know how many Templars are out there. I say it's not enough. Altaïr says he'd been hoping to avoid a direct confrontation with the Templars but there is no more time to wait. So all three of us go over to the gate. Templars get in the way and say no one enters or leaves. The Templar who spoke eyes us suspiciously. Two more Templars join him when we seem unwilling to leave. There are three of them, three of us… three stabs with three hidden blades, three dead Templars. The others don't seem to immediately realize what has just happened. We are halfway through the gate before some Templar sounds the alarm, pointing at us and yelling that the Assassins are here, don't let them through. So now a fight begins. I look over at SJ and see she has produced a sword from somewhere and knows how to use it. She kills a Templar as I watch. The next thing I know Altaïr yells to look out. I turn just in time to see Altaïr's throwing knife embedded in the neck of a Templar who had been coming at me. I need to pay less attention to SJ and more attention to the Templars! I dodge an incoming attack from a Templar and counter strike with my Witchblade sword, taking out another Templar. We are fighting our way towards the stables. Altaïr is after a horse. So we fight our way to the stables, leaving a trail of dead Templars in our wake. Then Altaïr is on a horse, tearing out of the stable at full speed and running down a couple Templars who had been blocking the gate. SJ and I kill some Templars trying to get to the horses to give chase. I see Altaïr disappear into the distance. There's no way they'll catch him now. I have just killed another Templar when I wake.

05/06/13

Land of Confusion
I am lying on a towel in the middle of a green field. It is a very peaceful setting. I sit up and look around. At first I think I am alone in the field but then I see there is a man there with me. One solitary Templar. He is watching me from a distance. I figure I will ignore him but then I remember the tasks of the month. One of them is to tell a DC that they don't exist. This should be an easy one. I go over to the Templar, who seems unsure of what to expect. He says he is just there to watch, he means no harm. I say it doesn't matter. He isn't even real. He hesitates and then asks what I'm talking about. I tell him he doesn't exist. He pauses again and then says if he doesn't exist then why do I keep killing him and his friends. I ask how I can kill him if he doesn't exist. I can't kill something that doesn't exist. He pauses again. I remember the other part of the task of the month, which is to set myself on fire in front of a DC. I've already confused this Templar, why not go a bit further. I ask him if he'd like to see someone on fire. He backs away, holds his hands up, and says no, don't do that. I tell him I'm not going to set him on fire, I'm not a sociopath. I'll be the fire. I call up a small fireball and set myself on fire. It's warm but not hot. I'm on fire but not burning. The Templar just stares. He is totally speechless. He says I really am insane. I comment that I should've known. If I'm on fire he wouldn't piss on me to put me out. Typical Templar bastard. He doesn't seem to know what to respond. I hear a meow and I look down to see Grumpy Cat roasting a marshmallow on my left foot.

I summon a splash of water to extinguish my fire and then scoop up Grumpy Cat to pet the cat. Grumpy Cat submits to being picked up but looks grumpier than ever, she has a look in her eyes that says she would like to scratch my eyes out but for some reason she doesn't make any move to do so. Grumpy Cat wiggles in my arms so I put her down. She walks away, sticking her tail up as she goes as if she is flipping me the bird with her tail, telling me to fuck off. I am left alone with the confused Templar. I remember that I had been planning on checking on Nomad since I haven't heard from him for a while. I focus on opening a portal to find Nomad, and one opens. I am about to go through the portal when I wake up instead.
 
Captive Rage
After waking up from the previous dream I manage to go back to sleep and go directly back into the same dream. I am in the field of grass, the Templar is still there watching me as if nothing had happened at all. I focus on opening a portal to find Nomad and one opens. This time I am able to go through it without any annoying waking up. On the other side I am in trees, up in a tree. I hear the sounds of quite a few people not far off. I follow the sound, keeping to the trees as I go, jumping from tree to tree. I have the idea if I appeared in the trees that maybe I should stay there for now. I reach the site where I hear people without being spotted. I look down on the scene below. There are lots of Templars, some of them look like human Templars, others look like orcs.

There is an altar with a woman chained down to it, there are strange things crawling all over her. The things look like worms of some kind, and they are burrowing into and out of her flesh as if it was loose soil. I recognize the woman as Winter. There are a couple Templars watching the torture, but most of them are focused on a large humanoid panther that they have chained to a huge stone of some kind. That looks like Nomad, though he doesn't appear lucid. A Templar is right beside him trying to be heard, which is very difficult considering Nomad is yelling some of the loudest expletives I have ever heard. I look back down and see the altar is right below me with two Templars, both men, watching. All of the others are distracted. I form Witchblade into tow hidden blades and jump down on the two observing Templars, air assassinating both of them at the same time. The move is silent and does not get any attention. I am trying to get through the locks to free Winter when I realize Nomad is no longer yelling expletives. I can now hear the Templar telling Nomad that the sooner he cooperates the sooner Winter will get well. He resumes cursing at that Templar. I focus on a healing spell, using Voices to send healing energy through Winter. The healing energy forces the worms out and they burn in white energy. Winter seems to relax, though she is still badly injured. I sneak around the outside of the clearing to approach the rock Nomad is chained to from behind. They are locked, of course. I use the unlock spell from Harry Potter, alohamora, to open the locks and I kick myself for not thinking of the spell when trying to free Winter. As I unlock the chains, an enraged Nomad realizes he is free and grabs the Templar who has been talking to him, practically tearing him in two with his claws. He rips an orc Templar open and heads directly for Winter. One Templar yells to stop him, another one says if the first one wants him stopped to do it himself. Nomad reaches Winter and tears the chains off of her, they are smaller than the ones that had been holding him. He looks at her and is pissed even more, tearing into more Templars with such a rage that the remaining ones scatter. I open a portal to the moon, telling Nomad that Winter needs healing. The first place I think of is the healing springs. Nomad seems to calm down when he sees me and sees the Templars are gone. We go through the portal to the healing springs. Nomad sets Winter in the water, the water around her glows with a bright light as it has its healing effect. Some dirty black stuff washes off of Winter and disperses. I use my healing spell on her again, focusing more healing energy through her. The worms are all gone now, and the wounds they have made heal closed. After the healing she seems to be sleeping peacefully. Nomad is crying now, saying he couldn't stand watching them do that to her… and then he adds that they will pay for what they've done. Everything fades to black as I wake.

05/03/13

Disturbed
I am at school. I look around and see it is my old high school, though I haven't been there for years. I walk down the halls looking for some sign of where I am supposed to be going. I spot someone I don't want to see. Someone I knew during high school who pretended to be my friend when she really had no interest in being my friend at all. Her name was Jamilia. I see her a bit farther down the hall but she has not yet seen me so I duck around a corner into a restroom to keep her from seeing me. I really don't want to see her. I look around and see there are a couple people I don't know in the bathroom doing their business. The stall walls and doors are only about waist high. That is high enough to conceal what everyone is doing but not high enough to conceal who is in each of the stalls. That seems like a dreadful lack of privacy. I don't want to go back out the way I came in because Jamilia might still be there so I look around and see the bathroom has two exits. I go out the other exit and find I am in the assembly room. I walk into the large room and I hear music playing loudly. I see there is a band there setting up for a concert. The song they are playing is "I'm Alive" by Disturbed. Awesome! Disturbed is going to be playing at the school! I can't wait to hear them. The song doesn't sound quite right and I notice their lead singer isn't there. David Draiman is missing and one of the others is singing instead. It doesn't sound bad, just different. Then I spot movement off to the side and David Draiman arrives, jumping from the upper level of the auditorium on a cheap looking bicycle and landing only a couple feet from me.

I am surprised the bike holds up to the jump, as it looks like it is made of plastic. The bike crumbles as soon as David Draiman gets off of it. He joins the other members of Disturbed and they continue playing "I'm Alive" as if nothing strange had just happened. I stay there and listen to the music since no one has told me I have to leave. I am hoping I can get autographs… I look around for something they might be willing to sign. All I can find is an old notebook, but it seems better than nothing. Maybe I can start an autograph book. I am waiting to see if there is a break during which I could approach one of them when the dream ends.
 
The Memory Remains
I am in a space ship or space station of some kind, I can't tell which or even that it is in space. All I can tell is I am in some kind of control room with computers and monitors all over the place. I have the feeling I am in space, though I am not sure where that feeling comes from. I am the only person in the control room, so I look around a bit. I see some of the monitors are active. One of the monitors is showing what looks like vital signs and a display that indicates the cloning process is complete. Another monitor reports that pertinent memories have been restored, other printing indicates these pertinent memories have to do with skills and fighting technique. It reports all other memories have been successfully blocked. The third screen shows a woman on the screen being equipped with robes and armor and weapons, I recognize her from a video I have seen, she is the Assassin known as Shao Jun. She has a blank look on her face and I wonder if those non-pertinent memories are of who she is. The people equipping Shao Jun with her weapons and armor are Templars. I put together that they have intended to clone an Assassin with all of her skills and use her… but what if she remembers who she is supposed to be? And that the Templars are the enemy? It seems likely that she will recover the blocked memories on her own in time, but why not speed the process on a bit? I see this control room is an observation deck and I am looking down on the room where all of this is taking place. I see Shao Jun in the room below, now standing there by herself, fully equipped for battle.

The door to the control room opens and a Templar scientist enters the room before realizing there is someone in here. He asks who I am and what I am doing there, but there doesn't seem to be much doubt about the answers to those questions since I am in my usual Assassin robes. He is going for an alarm on the wall when I grab hold of him, he immediately goes into wimp mode and starts begging for his life. I need to make sure he doesn't set off an alarm, maybe lock him in a closet? I let go of him just for an instant and he tries to stab me in the back with a mini lightsaber he had tucked into his belt. The blade singes the hair on my neck as I barely avoid it, killing him with my hidden blade before he can try again to kill me. I break the glass of the observation deck and jump down in front of Shao Jun, who seems unsure of whether to attack me or not. She seems a bit disoriented. A Templar comes back into the room and yells at her to kill me. I focus on the song spell "The Memory Remains" by Metallica. As the song plays, Shao Jun does attack… the Templar. Cuts him practically in two with her katana. More Templars come into the room. They may have energy blades, but they aren't getting anywhere near hitting Shao Jun with them. I watch as Shao Jun kicks the asses of every Templar that tries to come through the door. She turns to me and says she can see I'm an Assassin, so let's get out of here… and take out any Templars in the way. I climb back to the observation deck / control room. I set a couple controls and then a mechanical voice announces that the self destruct process has been activated. Time to get out. I teleport both Shao Jun and myself out into space where my Fire Valkyrie is waiting, we appear safely inside.

Shao Jun seems only slightly surprised by the teleportation. I fly away from the space station that is shaped like a giant Templar symbol… and we get out of range just as it explodes. I am thinking I need to take Shao Jun to some place where there will be other Assassins, but I don't get to figure out where to take her before I wake up. Hetfield tells me there is now a Shao Jun in my inner world…

04/19/13

Healing Quest
I am in a wide green field completely surrounded by Templars. This is getting to be an old scenario which I am quickly growing tired of. I decide to completely ignore them this time and I open a portal to the moon. I go through the portal and slam it closed in their faces as some of them try to follow me. On the other side of the portal I find I am at the healing springs on the moon. Nomad is there with me, and Winter is relaxing in the water. I focus healing energy through Winter, and then more through Nomad. I stop and think for a minute… I remember saying I would try to heal a friend on Facebook who said she was getting the flu. That person, who I will refer to as SJ for her privacy, had chatted with me on Facebook and I agreed to help her by trying to heal her flu before it gets too bad. I wonder how I am even going to find her since I have only talked to her a couple times and have never met her. So I focus on the energy I felt when I was chatting with her on Facebook, focusing my natural ability to track and trusting it to find her. A portal takes a little time to open, but finally it does.

I go through the portal into a dark place, though it is just dark because it is night time. There is a woman there who looks familiar, she looks like the photo I have seen on Facebook, she is even dressed in the Assassin costume she has used for her profile picture. She looks at me and smiles, she gives me a hug and thanks me for coming here to help. I tell her it's really no problem, I would like to be able to use dream healing to help more people, one problem seems to be that a lot of people don't accept that it works. Part of it might be my own self doubt… so I focus healing energy through SJ, directing the energy to back up her own immune system in fighting off the flu virus that she has said is trying to make her sick. Golden energy flows through her as she is standing there. I tell her there is a place she might want to see, it also has a very relaxing and healing effect. I take her back through the portal to the healing springs. She looks around the area, seeming to like what she sees. Nomad wants to know who my friend is, he says she looks like a dreamer from our world. He asks if I met her on Dreamviews. I tell him I met her on Facebook. He gets out of the healing pools and says hello to SJ. Winter doesn't respond to our presence, she is still floating peacefully in the water. I slip back into the water, telling SJ it is very relaxing. I close my eyes and relax, letting the healing effects flow through me as I fall asleep in the dream and wake up in my waking life.
 
Wizard Glass
I am in a cave with some other people. I look around to see who is there. Roland is sitting near the mouth of the cave holding a box, there is an orb inside the box that is black and it seems to be glowing with black light.

I go over closer to Roland to see what he is doing. He is just sitting there gazing at an open door. The door appears to be set in nothing but air, and I see a moving picture through it. I see Eddie through the door, and I remember a time when Roland held the box open while Eddie went through the door to take care of some things. I wonder why I might be there, I have the idea things aren't as they were meant to be. I hear voices talking from the back of the cave, they are saying all sorts of negative things. My mother is telling me she is so very disappointed that I am a useless lump in life, saying I shouldn't still be dependent on her at my age… I remember the nature of the voices so I make an effort to tune them out. I go over to the entrance to the cave. I see some people approaching the cave on the path. They are limited as to how many can approach the cave due to the narrow and winding path that approaches, but there are quite a few of them. I think maybe I should have some backup, and the first person I think of related to the Dark Tower is MoSh. So I open a portal to find MoSh and one opens. There is a strange interaction between the portal I have opened and the strange door, lines of force flowing between the two gateways. MoSh comes through the portal. Some invisible force tries to pull him through the door, but as soon as my portal closes the force dissipates. I look back out at the approaching people, they look like Templars to me. I wonder what they are doing there. I figure whatever it is they want it can't be anything good. One of them approaches the cave entrance and sees MoSh and me there. He sees me right away but has not seen MoSh, since MoSh is off to the side and a bit closer to the door. He points a gun at me and says he is here for the orb, so step back while he takes it. MoSh doesn't give him a chance to try to shoot me, he shoots the Templar who has come to steal black 13. The others behind him respond by firing weapons at us, weapons that are far too advanced for the time period the Dark Tower takes place during. Automatic weapons, high caliber fire arms… someone throws a grenade in which I kick back out. It goes over the edge before it explodes. That was apparently not agreed on as I hear a lot of cursing after it explodes, someone calling someone else an idiot and saying that would destroy the thing they were after. So there is a shootout from the cave entrance, MoSh and I are able to pick off the Templar attackers as they approach.

The others take cover around a corner in the path and are out of reach. I look over at Roland, but he appears to be zoned out into another world, I wonder if he has even heard the gunfire. I figure black 13 is responsible for his current condition. MoSh and I make our way out of the cave to intercept the rest of the Templars before they can resume their approach. There is another shootout at the bend in the path, MoSh and I take out more of the Templars as they retreat back down the path, there is a lot of cursing from them. Roland is then near us, he picks off a couple more Templars that are trying to circle around below and shoot at us from there. Eddie is there now, too. The remaining Templars disappear through a portal at the base of the cliff. I wonder what there will be to keep them from returning and stealing the black 13 later when no one is there. Roland has apparently thought of the same thing, he says he would rather not have it that close, but they'll have to take black 13 back with them so they can keep an eye on them. He asks if MoSh and I know who those people were who were after the ball… I tell them they are trouble, and apparently they have decided to put themselves in our road. It is here that I wake up. 

Treasure Hunt
I am on a ship at sea with some other people. I see Nomad not too far away and I see Captain Jack Sparrow standing right beside me. He is pointing out over the ocean to a rocky looking island in the distance, it seems we are heading for the island. Jack says something about the lost treasure being there, in a wrecked ship among treacherous rocks.

Another pirate says only a crazy person would get close enough to attempt to claim the treasure said to be in the ship's hold. He laughs and returns to his duties. As we get closer I am able to see the treacherous rocks and the ship that is wrecked somehow in the middle of them. I wonder why they had been heading there in the first place. We get what seems like dangerously close to the rocks before Jack tells the crew to stop. We'll have to get closer in a smaller boat, which seems a bit dangerous, too. I decide I can swim it better. I jump off the ship before anyone can tell me to stop and dive into the water. I find I can hold my breath for quite a while, and I swim near the bottom side of the ship… which is actually the top of the deck… and I find hatches that lead to the cargo bay. I surface for a breath and go back under to the cargo hatches. It takes a bit of effort to open it but the hatch finally comes open. I swim inside and find there is a pocket of air trapped within the ship. There are crates and things lining the walls, many of them have fallen over and spilled random contents on the floor, which is actually the ceiling. The air smells stale. I see what looks like a loose plank in the side and I see it is a covered window. I open it up and a rush of fresh air flows into the room. I call to the others that I found a way into the cargo bay. Nomad and Jack join me in the ship's cargo hold and we start looking through the containers. I find a chest full of gold coins, that is the first sign of treasure I have found.

I tell the others I have found treasure. Jack looks at the gold but doesn't seem all that interested in it. He says that's not what we're looking for. He says go ahead and take what I can, but what he is looking for is a golden idol, a statue of a monkey that is said to have magical powers. A monkey statue? I start looking through other containers, I am not finding a monkey. We have soon searched all we can get to. I swim underwater to check out a few more containers that I can reach. I find more gold, but still no golden monkey idol. Jack says they must have already gotten it. I ask who. He doesn't seem to be paying any attention to me for the time being. He goes back outside the ship and gets in the boat to go back to the ship that brought us there. The ship, now that I see it from a distance, looks like the Black Pearl. It is a cool ship. We are heading back towards the ship when I wake up.

04/18/13

Ambush I
I am in a green field, I am completely surrounded by Templars. I don't really want to take a lot of time on these Templars. I tell the nearest Templar that I am about to drop an Immortal Fire in case they would prefer to leave before that happens. No one responds by leaving, instead it looks like they are about to attack me. A strange energy seems to be radiating off of them. I use the Immortal Fire spell and create an explosion of fire that expands out from me… Before the fire has even faded I open a portal to the moon, heading for the balancing pools. I go through the portal and into the pool. Nomad is already there with Winter, and he seems to be trying to heal her. I focus healing energy through Winter and also through Nomad, I figure to get rid of the remaining sores on his foot. I am still focused on the healing when a dark shadow passes over the healing springs. I look up and see there are huge winged creatures in the sky over us. They look like giant bats or wraith horses, and each one has a Templar riding it.

They are in the biodome? They dive down and are attacking everything in sight. They are dropping energy bombs. The bombs are exploding and spreading dark energy all over the place. I use another Immortal Fire that creates only light energy, I don't want to cause any more destruction than the Templars are already causing. A blast of light energy extends out from me and incinerates the Templars, along with the dark energy bombs they are dropping. I get on Stardust, a winged unicorn with flaming mane and tail.

I ride into the sky and survey the area around the biodome. There are Templars attacking everywhere. There are Templars attacking over a city down below. The city is around a large temple. Nomad has followed me into the air and immediately attacks the Templars. I use the song Battery and strike a number of Templars with lightning. I fly down over the city and see there are all different races living in the city, all of them being attacked by Templars. I wonder what it is the Templars are after… I activate another Immortal Fire, and create another explosion of light energy. The light energy is destroying all of the wraith Templars it hits. I land in the city down below, feeling a little drained now, maybe too many Immortal Fires at once? I see Nomad blowing on what looks like the Horn of Eld from the Dark Tower series. Shortly after that I notice there are many others in the fight now, many of whom I don't even recognize, but they seem to be fighting against the Templars. The fight is still going on when I am unable to avoid waking up.
 
Undercover
I am with some other people just outside a town. I see some people sneaking into the town. The people disappearing into the town are Templars. The Templars are disguised as civilians. I am there with Nomad and Altaïr, I notice they are disguised as the Templars are. I am in the same disguise. We enter into the town. Q appears and says the Templars are aiming to plant dark energy bombs in various parts of the city, he isn't sure if the goal is to gain control or just to destroy everything, but it has to be stopped. So we split up and head into the city, looking for the Templars or the bombs they have left. Nomad and I are near the castle in the center of the town when we spot a couple of Templars leaving a bomb. We each take out a Templar with our hidden blades. Another Templar says something about a traitor, but doesn't get a chance to sound the alarm before Altaïr silences him. I hear someone calling for help from inside the castle. We all go in and follow some stairways down into a dungeon where there are several Templar wraiths torturing an orc.

We still look like Templars, so they take no notice of us. We easily get close enough to covertly cut the bonds holding the orc back. The orc grabs an axe from a surprised Templar and cuts him down with it. I take out a Templar right beside me using my hidden blade. At first they seem to think there are traitors among them, but it doesn't take them long to realize they have been infiltrated by Assassins. Nomad is throwing Templars through portals, he says something about them respawning if they are killed. I use Through the Never to open a vortex portal to somewhere around Pluto, and it pulls a pair of Templars through it. It will take them a bit of time to get back from Pluto, I figure. I then wonder if they won't just open a portal and come right back… The orc we freed has no ideas of sending Templars anywhere except the grave. He is about to attack me when I transform back to my Assassin form and he stops quickly, realizing I am not an enemy. I return to the surface and scan the area using Eagle Vision to see if I can find the remaining Templar infiltrators. I see the trails they have left, though it is not that easy to follow. I am not sure which way they went in! I follow a path to a bomb, which I send through a portal to a void between worlds where it won't hurt anyone. I get attacked by what looks like a random civilian, but is actually a Templar. I see him coming since he is glowing red, I see him in time to dodge his attack and counter with one of my own, forming Witchblade into a sword which he practically impales himself on. I see other people who look like Assassins searching the area for any more bombs. I wonder how many Templars got into the town. I never have a chance to find out before I wake. 

Ambush II
I am in a hotel room, it looks weird there, sort of like a dream. Maybe it is a dream. I pinch my nose and find I can still breathe, so I know I am dreaming. I hear a lot of cursing from nowhere at all. I recognize the voice of the person cursing as Susanna Dean from the Dark Tower books. I am not sure how I recognize her voice, but there is no doubt in my mind that is who it is. She is getting angry at her alter, Mia, for setting Eddie and Roland up to be killed. I remember the scene in the book that this is referring to. I talk to Susanna telepathically. I tell her that no matter how many hired goons have been set on Eddie and Roland, it won't be enough. Mia asks who the fuck I am, she says she didn't know before and wants to know now. I tell her to be glad I don't want to alter the story enough to kick her sorry ass right out of there, and send her chap along with her. She says I couldn't do it, but she doesn't sound too certain of that. I have to get to Eddie and Roland. I focus on opening a portal to find them, and it opens, so I go through. I am near what looks like a truck stop called the Dixie Pig. As soon as I appear there someone starts shooting at me, so I hit the dirt. As I am there on the ground I see I am not alone. Eddie and Roland are both there, Roland is looking at me strangely and Eddie looks a bit disoriented.

We are being shot at. It is the small army sent by Enrico Balazar to intercept Roland and Eddie. Roland asks where my friend is. I focus on a portal to find MoSh. The portal opens and MoSh comes through, hitting the dirt as he is also being shot at. Eddie seems to be coming around, and we all start returning fire. I shoot a couple hired goons that are closing in on us from beyond several parked cars, behind which the remaining people take cover. Not all of them make it, however, Roland shoots three, Eddie shoots two, and MoSh shoots two. There are at least five more hidden behind the vehicles. I see someone else coming onto the scene. Nomad is riding what looks like a saber tooth tiger and shooting with a couple revolvers. He flushes the five goons behind the car into the open and shoots a couple of them, the others are left open to being shot by Roland, Eddie, MoSh. We make our way to the gas station area of the truck stop as more hired goons close in on us. An 18 wheeler comes barreling out of control and crashes between us and what looks like a couple dozen more hired goons. Roland wants to go out the back, there are three customers in the place that are staring wide eyed at us. Roland tells them all to get down, but only one of them does it. A couple older women get shot and collapse to the ground. Eddie recognizes one of the enemies and refers to him as old double ugly. Double ugly seems to recognize Eddie, and hesitates much long and gets blown away by Eddie. I notice for the first time Eddie has been shot in the leg. Some hired goons are coming around each side of the truck stop, and some are coming through as we get out the back. None of them get very far before we cut them down. John, the customer that is still alive, says he has a way to make an exit but we need a distraction. Roland shoots one of the fuel tanks and starts a leak. John throws a lighter to it and it bursts into flames. We all head down a path behind the truck stop as the gas pumps burst into flames. We haven't gotten far out of the way before there is a huge explosion behind us.

It looks like it must have taken out quite a few of the goons with it, I wonder if any of them managed to get away. We all pile on a boat and head out across a lake to put distance between us and any remaining goons. Roland, Eddie, and John talk a bit but I don't pay a lot of attention. We get to the other side of the lake and enter a boat house. I tell them I can do some healing. Eddie looks a bit confused, Roland looks at his right hand, flexing all five of the fingers there. He tells Eddie I can do it, but hurry. I find the bullet wound in Eddie's leg and focus healing energy through it. The wound begins healing and quickly closes up. I also heal a bullet wound in Eddie's arm and a bump on his head. I look over at Roland, but he says he is fine. I grab his arm anyway and focus healing energy through him, I remember he was having some trouble with arthritis… which I am sure I can't cure, but I think it should help some anyway. And I have even less time than they do, I feel I am about to wake up. As I focus healing energy through Roland everything around me fades and I wake up.