New Dream Adventures of Raven Knight

2017, 04-14

MoSh’s Inner World

I am in a place I don’t immediately recognize. I look around to see where I am. I am in a green field that stretches out quite some distance in all directions. I head in one direction, the direction that feels right. After I walk for a while I see there is a house up ahead. I hurry up to reach the house quicker. It seems to take forever to get there, it seems that the distance expands as I try to reach the house. I start running and it seems the house is still moving away from me even faster than ever, I can’t figure out what is happening. I stop moving and the house stops moving away from me. The only way this is even possible is if I am dreaming, so I pinch my nose and try to breathe. I am able to breathe with my nose pinched so I know now that I am dreaming. I still want to reach the house in the distance so I run towards it again… and it resumes moving away from me. I jump into the air and start flying and that seems to do the trick, the house stops retreating and I am able to approach it and land on the porch.

I go over to the door and a woman opens it. It is a Japanese woman in a pretty kimono. I am struck by how beautiful she is in her kimono, and I blurt out that her kimono is beautiful. She smiles and invites me into the house so I go inside. The smell of fresh cookies comes to my nose, she has been baking cookies! She has a pan with some fresh cookies on it and she brings it over and offers me a cookie. I am thinking that is perfect because in a dream there is no calories or fat in a cookie. So I take a cookie and eat it and I can’t get over how delicious the cookie is. I tell the woman how much I like the cookie and she says to go ahead and have another. I thank her many times and take another cookie. She says MoSh is in the other room. She says Vegeta already showed up, and he is with MoSh. I hear the name MoSh and it finally gets through my thick head where I am. That isn’t some random woman in a kimono, that’s Asuka, does this mean I have finally made it into MoSh’s inner world? I’m not sure why that has been so difficult for me lately, but here I am finally.

I go into the other room and I see Data working on a computer terminal with some pretty complex diagrams and equations on the screen. I look closer and it looks like diagrams of a shield system, so I figure he is working with the shield protecting MoSh’s inner world. I look at the other end of the room and I see MoSh sitting on a couch with Vegeta and they are talking about something. When I get closer I can hear Vegeta saying something about creating a powerful vortex that will gather in all of the dirt and particles in the area, crush them down into a fine sane, and create a tornado out of it. I go over to them, but they seem to be ignoring me completely, they’re completely focused on what they’re doing. Vegeta says he can take MoSh out to a training area to try out the new techniques. MoSh seems agreeable to that, and they get up and leave through the front door without even noticing me. Asuka comes into the room and says she thought MoSh was in here. I tell her that he was, but he just left. She says he’ll be back, have another cookie. I tell her I’d better not. I am feeling a bit odd, and then I wake up.

Note: My main plan right now is to get consistent with my ability to WILD using my new light /sound machine, which I need to find the settings that work best for me. MoSh wants to continue with more Harry Potter dreams, so that is kind of a plan, so that will be my main goal for my WILD… to meet up with MoSh in a Harry Potter dream. I put on my new light / sound machine and slipped into a WILD… Yay for WILDs!

I am at Hogwarts, I am in the halls, though I am not sure where I need to be going right now. I start walking down the hall, trying to figure out where I need to go, when a woman comes up behind me. I recognize her, it's Andie from my dorm room, my other two roommates are there with her. I look at them and try to remember what their names are, there is a woman with short red hair named Shanara, and there is another woman with long blonde hair named Marie. I am not really sure where I remember their names from, but I am certain of those names. Andie asks what I am doing, she says we had better get to potions quickly before Snape gets mad. Marie says Andie is too worried, Snape never gets mad at Slytherin students. She says we could wander in there half way through class and Snape would just ignore us. Andie says Snape won't overlook something like that for anyone, not even the students from his own house. Whether Snape would let that much tardiness go or not, we hurry to get to the classroom, which is in the dungeons. I sit next to Tigress, who is sitting in a row behind MoSh and Asuka. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sit down behind Tigress and me, Draco sits down to my left (Tigress is on my right). Ron leans forward and whispers something to Tigress, I don't hear exactly what he says, but it is clear Tigress is not pleased by it. She says, much more loudly than Ron, "How about you shut the fuck up and mind your own business?" Hermione is next to Ron, she gives him a disapproving look, but says nothing. Harry isn't paying any attention at all, though he is giving dirty looks to the back of Draco's head. Draco turns around and smirks at Harry, saying he hopes Harry stays in the tournament long enough so that Draco can show everyone what a fraud the great Harry Potter really is. Harry responds with a very unimaginative, "Shut up, Malfoy." It looks like he might say more, but Hermione elbows him in the ribs as Snape walks to the front of the room, apparently to keep Harry from getting himself in trouble.

Snape's lesson goes smoothly apart from Goyle screwing up his potion by adding too much of one ingredient and too little of another, which resulted in a blast of colored smoke from his cauldron that colored his face and hair a hot neon pink. Snape makes fun of Goyle a bit, but says the color will wear off in time. Goyle wants to know how much time, Snape responds it should be long enough for Goyle to figure out the importance of following directions properly. Goyle looks over at Draco as if blaming Draco for not being there to help him with the potion. At the end of the class, everyone leaves, and now it is time for lunch. Draco asks me about preparing for the tournament, I tell him maybe Vegeta will be available after we eat lunch. Draco doesn't seem to care about eating lunch, he says he just wants to make sure he is able to crush Harry Potter like a gnat in the tournament… not just beat him, but completely humiliate him. I roll my eyes at that, but I don't say anything since it seems at least Draco is trying to keep his hatred of Harry confined to the tournament. I tell Draco he won't get very far in training if he is malnourished. We head into the great hall, where there is an informal gathering for lunch, by which I mean people are coming and going as they choose, sitting wherever they want instead of at specific tables… Draco goes and grabs a sandwich, proceeding to wolf it down in record time, but I linger a bit longer to eat my lunch before we leave the great hall.

On the way out of the castle to look for Vegeta, I spot a familiar and much hated face, it is Delores Umbridge. But Professor Lupin is the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, so what is that bitch doing at Hogwarts? I wouldn't have been able to miss her if I had been trying, as she is wearing a bright pink dress that looks a bit like Goyle's face after his potion accident, and one of the ugliest hats I have ever seen, the hat is white with a bunch of pink feathers in it that make Umbridge look like she has a dead flamingo on her head. WTF? I voice my 'WTF' a bit too loud, and Draco seems to think I don't know who Umbridge is, so he fills me in on that. He says that woman is Delores Umbridge, she is one of the tournament judges. He says he doesn't know who in the ministry she has dirt on, but even his father had been unable to persuade them to remove her from the judges' panel. I ask why Lucius wants to get her off the judge's panel, Draco said the woman makes his father sick, with all of her sickly sweet behaviors that are so clearly put on that someone who is both blind and deaf could spot her as a fraud. Draco says that the only thing she and his father agree on is that mudbloods have no place in a school of magic. I shoot Draco a dirty look, but I don't say anything since he isn't actually calling a specific person a nasty name, and I figure if I start contesting every single annoying thing Draco does, he'll just end up getting pissed at me and that could screw up my attempts to get him to behave at all and also my chances of healing him.

Umbridge disappears around a corner, I wonder where she is going, but I figure it doesn't really matter at this time since I have other things going on and I don't really have time to play with Umbridge right now. Draco and I go out onto the grounds to where I have seen Vegeta before, and we find him there now, he is there with MoSh, Hermione, and Cedric, while Ron and Harry are watching, though they don't seem to be speaking to each other, each one is making a clear and deliberate effort not to look at the other. Vegeta smirks in our direction, about as close to a smile as I usually see on him, and says we have two more to add to the class. Ron says if Draco and I are coming, he is leaving, he can't stand the stench. Vegeta glares at him, which results in Ron turning so pale that his freckles look like holes in his sheet-white skin… Vegeta tells Ron that he is obviously too weak to join the martial arts class after all. Ron gets annoyed at that and says he is not weak, but Vegeta says Ron can't even control his tongue. "One must first learn civility before learning the martial arts," Vegeta says, it sounds like he is quoting something from somewhere, "and one must first know good ethics before developing powerful skills. You would do well to remember those words." Ron points at Draco, "But he's always saying Hermione is a mudblood and insulting me and Harry and…" Vegeta interrupts him, saying it doesn't matter what Draco says or does, that is no excuse for Ron losing control. He says anything Draco does will be dealt with, but this time it was Ron, not Draco, who had opened his big mouth. Draco is about to crack up laughing next to me, without even looking in our direction, Vegeta says, "Malfoy! Do you find something about this amusing?" Draco stops laughing instantly and says no, nothing is amusing, since it is clear Vegeta is not pleased by Draco's laughter. Vegeta says then Draco should stop laughing and get ready to take training seriously. Draco looks over at me and asks how it can be that a muggle is putting off such a powerful energy presence… I tell Draco that magic isn't everything, Vegeta has his own type of power, and it is definitely awesome.

Everyone that will be training is now gathered around Vegeta, Harry, Hermione, MoSh… it looks like everyone is there except Tigress, I'm not certain if she is absent on purpose or not. Ron is still lingering off to the side, Vegeta says his class is not limited to tournament participants, so if Ron is ready to man up and behave in an adult manner, he can stay with the class. Ron hesitates, but then he scoffs at the class and walks away towards the castle, making another remark about filthy Slytherins. I can see Vegeta really made an impact on him… NOT! Now the training starts, it isn't a particularly long training session, I think it was just a chance for some of the students to meet up with Vegeta and see the kinds of things they can learn from him. Everyone there is clearly impressed, though Draco tries not to show it, acting like the things Vegeta is doing aren't anything that he hasn't seen before. Vegeta ignores that attitude issue and continues with his lesson. Since the first challenge is to have no magic used, Vegeta is sticking to the physical techniques of martial arts, saying the techniques he is showing here are from the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts. We get to the point where Vegeta has some of the students try some of the simple techniques out, I see more people have gathered around as time goes by, either drawn by the activity or maybe they had planned on coming after they finished eating lunch. After we are done with Vegeta, it is time for classes to start again, so we head off for Transfiguration class. The rest of the classes during the day pass uneventfully, so much so that I have very few memories from them.

Note: Plans for tonight included going to Hogwarts, MoSh wants to train for the tournament and also make sure Asuka is ok, he said she doesn't seem to have her memories completely back. MoSh seemed to have an idea Draco might know something about the memory spell that was used on Asuka. My main goal is just to have another reliable way to become lucid other than using WILDs, maybe I could make a go of using FAs? Not sure right now, but I had the plan in my mind as I fell asleep.

I am in the fields around Hogwarts, I am there with MoSh and Asuka, and even though I am at Hogwarts, I am not lucid. I look over at the castle as if it is the most normal thing in the world, MoSh says he wants to find Vegeta, and this also seems like the most normal thing in the world. So MoSh, Asuka, and I start looking around the grounds, trying to find where Vegeta might be, and we finally meet up with him behind the castle. Vegeta looks over at us and greets us, he asks if we are looking to train for the tournament. MoSh says he is, and Asuka might train some, too, but I say I am looking to see if I can find anything out about the memory spell that was used on Asuka. While it is possible that no one in the castle knows anything about what happened to Asuka, it is also possible that someone does. I intend to start in Slytherin, with Draco, because even if he had nothing to do with it directly, it seems likely Lucius would know something about it and would probably have blabbed about it around his son. Vegeta shakes his head disapprovingly, he says not all of the challenges can be won by pure power, some of them require specific skills, such as martial arts, since no other powers would be allowed in that part. I tell him I know that, but it seems that finding out who is after Asuka is more important than winning some tournament.

MoSh doesn't want me to leave until I make sure Asuka's memory is fully restored, which I'm not sure what he expects me to do about it while I am awake, so I play the Metallica song "The Memory Remains" and focus the energy on Asuka, I say that should have the desired effect. MoSh talks to Asuka a bit, and then says she seems to be remembering everything. So as they go to train with Vegeta, I leave MoSh and Vegeta training and I enter the castle through one of the back entrances, going straight to some stairs that lead down into the dungeon area. Now there is a problem, I can't remember where I am going, I can't think of where I was here before… except in a dream. So far I have been in Hogwarts and seen Vegeta and MoSh and talked about helping Asuka without realizing I was dreaming, but now I guess things are coming together, and I finally do a reality check, at which point I determine I am definitely dreaming.

So now I remember where I need to go to get to the Slytherin dorms, and I head there right away. I make a couple wrong turns, the dungeon hallways all seem to look the same, but I finally stumble on the hidden entrance to the dorms and I go inside. There are a few people there, some of them are studying, others are chatting, I spot Draco kicked back on a couch with Crabb and Goyle sitting in chairs next to him, and they are muttering amongst themselves. Well, the easiest way to get information will be to be friendly with Draco, to get him to talk about what he knows, to share secrets. I know that shouldn't be too hard, if he knows anything, he often likes to brag on what he knows. And really, I just need to get him thinking about the subject to read the rest of it out of his mind. Draco looks over from the couch and sees me at the entryway, so I wave to him in a friendly manner, and Draco smiles, which makes Crabb and Goyle look at each other strangely. I take the smile as an invitation and I go over and say hello to Draco. Draco is looking at me with a strange look on his face now, then he turns to Crabb and Goyle, asking them if there wasn't a homework assignment they needed to get done. Both of them say no at the same time, Draco says yes they do, that is unless they want to flunk out and prove that what people are saying about them is true. Goyle asks what people are saying, Draco says the general believe is that the two of them have a cumulative IQ that is lower than most rocks. It sounds to me like Draco agrees with that thought, though he doesn't say so. He says Crabb and Goyle had better get the homework done if they want to pass. Both of them finally leave, heading down to the boys' dorm, probably to get their stuff.

So now I am sitting in the Slytherin common room with Draco, chatting about random stuff for a bit. It seems all Draco wants to talk about is possible way to make Harry Potter look bad, which bores me rather quickly. I comment that if Potter is such a loser, maybe Draco needs to train so he can kick his ass in the tournament… after all, then three entire schools, will see Harry Potter compete and come out with an epic fail. Draco looks like he is about to say something, but he stops. Draco starts talking about dirty tricks he can pull to ensure Potter loses. I say that if Draco makes Harry look bad by cheating, he will have to keep quiet about who caused it or get in trouble. But if it is done by tournament rules, everyone will see who really is the better wizard when Draco beats Harry without playing dirty. Draco hesitates, I can tell he is thinking what if he doesn't win… I comment that I thought he had the skill to beat Harry. He says of course he can beat Potter without using any tricks! I say that then tricks are a pointless risk, because if he is discovered, he will be disqualified from the tournament and end up being a laughing stalk… which would make Harry look even better. So since Draco has the skills, why take the pointless risk? "And I heard you mention having Crabb and Goyle help you with your plans…" I say, "Is there any other way to ensure that the plan fails and you get caught? If those two were any slower, they'd be going backwards." Draco has to admit that is true, and finds the comment a bit amusing. He asks about me helping in his plans… I say I will help him train, after all, we both want the winner to be from Slytherin… but let's do it on even ground, so no one can dig up dirt to make Draco look bad and Harry look like a victim. Draco says Potter will be revealed as the loser he is… and that Granger girl, too, the stupid mudblood… And it seems like Draco is actually considering beating Harry by playing fair, or at least by the rules.

I figure it is time to find out about Asuka, now that it won't seem I came over to see Draco just for that, which might have made him shut me out. "Speaking of pranks and dirty tricks," I say, "Did you hear about that girl from Gryffindor, Asuka? Someone completely wiped out her memories." Draco replies with, "I hadn't heard," but he doesn't seem interested. I am trying to probe into his mind to find out what he might know about the situation. I ponder for a bit, then, "Who did it?" Draco immediately replies, "How would I know?" I say I didn't expect him to, it was a rhetorical question. I am still probing at Draco's mind about the subject, and now I am seeing that Draco had nothing to do with the situation, but he does know that Lucius had something to do with it. I comment I was just thinking it was strange for something like that to happen right in Hogwarts. Draco says he doesn't think it's a big deal, I comment no one was hurt, and her memories are back now, so not really. Just strange. Draco asks when I'll be able to get to training. I say soon, and Vegeta will help us train, but right now there was something I have to go do… what I want to do is go find Lucius and see about reading his mind for more answers. Though I have no doubt the trail leads to Voldermort, I have no idea why Voldermort would have taken a special interest in Asuka… Of course I don't know why so many enemies take such an interest in Asuka… Draco says not to take too long, he wants to make Potter look REALLY bad in the tournament. I tell him not to worry, I will make sure there is time to train, and besides, I have heard that Harry likes to procrastinate (from book 4 of the series, where he kept putting off getting ready for the challenges of the Tri-Wizard Tournament). As soon as I am out of sight, however, I wake up.

Note: I have read in different places that writing dreams in the present tense helps aid in the recall of those dreams. Since I have been having so many fragments lately, I'm going to give it a shot for a while starting with this dream.

I am at my ex boyfriend, James's house. I can tell it's getting a bit later in the evening, and I am thinking I still want to get to the mall to the computer store before I go home. For some reason I don't want James coming with me to the mall, so I haven't mentioned to him that I want to go there at all. I am trying to come up with a good excuse to leave his place early so I will sure have time to get to the mall before they close, but I am having problems with that. Finally I tell James I have to make a stop on my way home to get something, and of course he wants to come along, he says there is still plenty of time to run my errand and then come back in time for me to head home. So since I am unable to come up with an excuse as to why I want to go without him, I agree that we can go together. James and I head out to my car and drive straight to the mall with nothing eventful happening on the way there. In fact, we don't even say much to each other along the way, which is a bit odd, but in the dream I don't notice this is unusual.

Once we are in the mall I head for the computer store to look at the games, I know exactly what I am after, though I still see no reason why it should be secret from James… it's just a feeling I have that I want to keep it to myself. In the computer store I head directly to the PC games, straight to the latest installment in the Assassin's Creed series, which is entitled "Assassin's Creed: Descent into Madness." I pull the box off of the shelf and find it is the last copy there, I feel fortunate to have found it. Apparently the plot includes the Assassins from all the different time periods ending up in the same place, the Templars attempted to meddle with time to allow them to gain possession of all of the pieces of Eden, which has damaged the fabric of space-time, so the Assassins have to target specific Templars who were damaging the space-time continuum to prevent this damage before it happens… Cool, I think, time travel! The box cover shows Altaïr, Ezio, someone I don't recognize but is clearly an Assassin, and Desmond, who had apparently trained as an Assassin as well. I know right away that those are three ancestors Desmond interacted with through the Animus and then Desmond himself. James is behind me, he says he thought I didn't have the money to buy him a video game he had wanted. I say that I don't, this money was set aside for Assassin's Creed, which I had already promised myself. I tell him I do have to buy myself something sometimes, too. He tries to pull a guilt trip that I obviously don't love him since I had hidden this money, acting like he has a right to be angry because I lied about not having the money for his game when I had kept the money for my game. I look at Assassin's Creed and I am able to be unaffected by the guilt trip as I go to the checkout and pay for Assassin's Creed, for my game.

In the main part of the mall, James is still trying to pull a guilt trip on me, and I am still resisting it as I think about playing Assassin's Creed when I get home. I notice there aren't many people in the mall, apparently it is almost time for it to close. I tell James we had better get going or I will be late leaving to get home on time, he acts really depressed over the game. We are on our way to the entrance when I see something that catches my eye… a really big guy with a dark aura of some kind, he looks more like something I might see in a cheesy slasher flick. He is about seven feet tall, is dressed all in black, staring at a woman in a very threatening manner. I point that out to James, but he doesn't seem to think anything of it. I tell James it looks like there might be trouble there, maybe we should go get the police, that big man looked like he was seriously threatening that woman. James says it's not our business, but I feel drawn to them, to follow them and make sure nothing drastic happens. The big psycho killer type leads the woman away, the woman doesn't seem to be resisting, but I get the idea she is too afraid of the big guy to even try to escape. James reluctantly follows me along, I follow them into a theater without having to buy a ticket or anything, where the woman sits down with the big guy to watch the movie. I sit down behind them where I can keep an eye on them and still not be seen. It's a pretty crappy movie, it looks like it was made by a first quarter student in my school, the acting sucks… the composition sucks… the camera work sucks… everything sucks. It sucks so bad it's almost funny. The movie was about a couple who broke up, I could tell it was supposed to be more of a tear jerker than a comedy, but the sheer crappiness of the movie made it much more amusing than sad. The characters in the movie speak like zombies, with absolute no emotion at all, as if they are just reading their lines like a bunch of retards.

I notice the woman get up and walk away from the big creepy guy… but the big creepy guy is gone now, there is an average looking man there, only about six feet tall or maybe even a bit shorter, decent looking but not overly hot, with a friendly smile. Great… I'd lost the big creepy guy. But at least the woman is away from him. Apparently the woman has had enough of the movie, she is heading for the door which is standing slightly open and allowing some light into the room. Instead of leaving, however, she just closes the door. My attention is drawn back to the movie again when I hear someone speaking with some degree of emotion for a change, and I look to see MoSh is playing in the movie! Awesome, MoSh has an acting job! Too bad he is surrounded by idiots… He is talking about someone he thought was his dream girl, but he says that it doesn't matter since he had found the wrong person. The woman is clearly affected by this, and she starts crying, with the big creepy guy standing over her… I have had enough of that creepy guy.

I walk over to the creepy guy with James following me and telling me to stay out of it, but I am ignoring James entirely. I reach the man and ask him why he is following the woman around, what is it he is looking to gain from this. He gives me a dirty look, his eyes are solid black, it's like looking into empty dark voids, the aura of dark energy around him seems to grow and try to envelope me, to pull me into the darkness. James, behind me, is now staring into the creepy guy's eyes, seeming to be zoned completely out. He takes a couple steps towards the creepy guy, who grabs James by the neck and squeezes extremely tightly until I hear James' neck actually break with a brittle snap. He throws James body aside and glares at me, I notice that the woman who had been crying is gone now, I wonder where she managed to go. At least it appears she got away from this creepy asshole for now. I find I do not fear this guy at all, so I walk right over to him… my head is about the level of his chest… but I glare straight up into his bottomless abyss eyes and tell him if he is looking for trouble, he was going to get it… because I'm his worst nightmare. He doesn't respond, but I am now thinking about dreams, so I do a quick nose-pinch reality check and discover I am dreaming.

Now that I realize I am dreaming, I know I have a wide array of powers at my disposal to take care of this oversized asshole. I tell the asshole I will give him a small sample of what he will face if he doesn't back down immediately, at which point I open up with a blast of energy in the same manner as Vegeta does in Dragonball Z, I hit the asshole with a Final Flash of light energy. The entire theater is suddenly illuminated with the light from my blast, and the big creepy guy is sent flying down the aisle into the movie screen with a huge explosion. The last thing I see on the movie screen is an image of two people with their backs turned on each other, I don't recognize the people, then that scene collapses in on itself as the creepy guy crashes into it. Everyone in the theater is now standing up and clapping, giving a standing ovation to something I am not aware of… or maybe they're clapping for my kicking the creepy guy's ass… I'm not sure.

I was in my inner world, in the area that has been set aside for the child, Dela, who I brought back from a place where everyone was convinced she was some kind of demon. When I found her, she was playing some rather nasty games with a couple of my DC's that had been placed there to keep her company. There was a male DC there, he was screaming and scratching at his own skin, and I could see something moving under there… just then he managed to scratch all the way through the skin on his arm, and in addition to blood coming out, a bunch of bugs came out, an assortment of bugs including beetles, centipedes, maggots, flies… a bunch of them… came out of the wound, his entire body was filled with the things… He was screaming in terror as more of them came out of his mouth, muffling his screams… There was also a woman there, she had a sharp knife and she was very slowly and deliberately peeling off her own skin. She wasn't screaming or making a single sound, but she had a rather realistic look of terror and pain on her face, especially for a DC. I had to double check the two just to be sure they were really just DC's, the small amount of energy they had was consistent with my own DC's. I dispelled the DC's and told Dela to stop doing that. Her response was that she was bored, and she didn't know any other way these dummies could keep her entertained. She added that it's not like they're really alive or anything…

Well, I couldn't deny that, but what I was hoping to do was help her get control of her dark energy so she wouldn't have the need to go around doing such things, at least not randomly. She would at least reserve the nastiness for those who deserve it. She said that since I had come, perhaps I would find some way to entertain her for a while… after all, aren't mothers supposed to entertain their daughters? There she went calling me her mother again… even though I wasn't really. It was almost like she read those thoughts, because she added that of course I was her mother… I had adopted her, hadn't I? Sure, I wasn't around much, but even that was more than her real parents had done, they had been too scared to be around her, they thought shutting her in the basement would keep them safe… but they had eventually learned. So how about me? She asked if I was too scared to fulfill my motherly duties, to spend a bit of quality time with her daughter? She said she also didn't like being kept in this place full of dummies, she wanted to be moved somewhere else right away. She said being around only these drones could make a girl downright antisocial… I thought she seemed antisocial enough. I told her there were some things I was going to try to teach her, but she immediately laughed at that idea and said there was nothing she could possibly learn from me… cocky brat… I asked if she really wanted to leave this place full of drones and be around real people again, she said of course. I said that as long as she cooperated with her lessons, she could do that. She gave me a dirty look for a bit, then a contemplating look, then apparently decided to play along.

So since I wasn't feeling drained right then, I took her out into an open area of the containment area and focused on setting up a flow of dark energy between us, the idea was basically the same as when Walms had given me the first amount of his stable dark energy since the only dark energy that had ever been inside me had been unstable. So we ended up making a game out of it, a form of tag actually. The goal of the game was to peg the opponent with a ball of dark energy while avoiding getting pegged by absorbing the opponent's energy ball before it reached you. It seemed a good way to get her to expend some of her unstable dark energy at me while allowing her to absorb some stable dark energy. It became quite an interesting game, actually, playing it throughout the containment area Dela had been living in, efficiently exchanging dark energy. I would send her a stable energy ball, she would absorb it and then send an unstable one back, which I would absorb and stabilize. The plan had been to make sure she was able to absorb most of my energy balls, but she was able to do most of it on her own, she was already quite good at sensing when there was energy approaching her. This actually made for a quite fun game.

When the game was ending, it was clear that Dela was expecting me to take her somewhere there would be real people instead of just the drone DC's. I told her she was not to attack any of the real people outside of this containment area, since they weren't simple DC's. She said of course she wouldn't attack anyone, as long as they were nice to her. I wondered what qualifications she had for counting them as nice… did she expect people to do everything she told them to do? She would find an unpleasant surprise if that was what she was thinking… since most of the people in my inner world… actually all of the ones who stay on permanent basis… are familiar with dark energy and able to handle it. I opened a portal and took her to Vegeta's house, I figured he could even help her with controlling her energy. Serena was outside with the twins, Gene and Amanda, and Vegeta was demonstrating something to the twins. I went over to them and asked if Vegeta and Serena would mind keeping an eye on one more, Serena got a big smile on her face. She asked who the pretty girl there with me was. She scoffed at the compliment, I told Serena it was Dela, and Dela would need a place to stay while she was learning control over her dark energy. Vegeta looked at her and said she would learn it fast enough here. Dela gave me a dirty look and said I wouldn't get away with just dumping her off on someone else. I told her I wasn't dumping her off, but since this is my dream self and I would have to wake up, I wouldn't be able to stay with her all the time. She looked a bit perplexed at that comment, I told her Vegeta and Serena could explain… I was about to wake up. And then I did wake.

Note: The first goal of the night was to get everyone together for training with Vegeta followed by getting on with the rest of the goals I have in a seemingly endless list. I was successful in slipping into a WILD…

I looked around to find myself in MoSh's inner world, in the usual place in front of his house. I thought I saw something moving out of the corner of my eye, but when I looked there was nothing there. I was peering into the shadows between the two houses across the street when I heard a familiar voice behind me, I turned to see MoSh standing there with Asuka beside him. Both of them were looking at me strangely, apparently MoSh had said something to me and I hadn't heard a word of it. MoSh repeated himself, asking me what I was looking at as he also peered into the shadows between the houses. I told him I thought I had seen something, but there was nothing there, so I must have imagined it. MoSh said it was probably one of the dogs that seem to roam the area, sometimes they seem to show up at odd times. I agreed to that possibility and opened a portal to get the three of us into my inner world near Vegeta's house.

When I stepped out of the portal I found Vegeta was standing outside looking up into the sky as if he was expecting something to happen. I went over to him and asked what was up there, he paused for a couple of minutes and said he was gone now. I asked who Vegeta was talking about, Vegeta said he had sensed a dark energy being entering my inner world, he had checked the energy frequency and found it to be Walms, but then Walms had left in a hurry. Vegeta didn't seem to think much of that, I wondered why Walms would come here and then leave so soon, he had probably woken up for his next FA. Vegeta was more interested in getting down to training before one or more of us ended up disappearing. I was thinking there was someone else I was supposed to meet with… Blake! I was supposed to find Blake in a dream, he said he'd be waiting in the biodome by the koi pond. I told Vegeta I'd be right back as I opened the portal and went through it before he could finish telling me to get my ass back there and train, I wouldn't improve by running off all the time.

I was in the biodome by the koi pond now, but it seemed my only company there was the fish and a few animals I could see hidden in the plants and flowers. I wandered around a bit as I wondered how long I should wait for Blake to show up and I came across the bread tree planted there by Loaf. I picked a warm loaf of cinnamon bread that seemed to have grown with butter already in it, pulled a large piece off of the loaf, and I started eating it as I headed towards the bench where I said I'd wait for Blake. I sat down on the bench and continued eating the bread, it was delicious, and I watched the fish.

I'd stay here and wait for Blake for a bit and then I'd head back to see Vegeta and continue training. I figured I would stay there until I finished my bread, and then I would check back later as well. As I was watching the fish and finishing my bread I felt like the dream was coming to an end. Since I thought that might be due to the fact I was doing nothing, I decided I had better get back to Vegeta and do some training to get the dream a bit more active. I opened a portal and passed through it to find Vegeta, MoSh, and Asuka in the middle of training.

Vegeta saw me right as I entered the area, I figured he had probably seen me coming before the portal had even opened, and he came over, he said it was about time I returned. He said MoSh had already tried to leave by waking up but that attempt had failed due to Vegeta's time dilation. MoSh said he hadn't been trying to wake up on purpose, Vegeta responded that he knew MoSh hadn't been deliberately trying to wake up, he said MoSh takes some things too seriously, then he added that there are things I don't take seriously enough… such as training. Vegeta was passing swords out to everyone in the training group, which I noticed consisted of MoSh, Asuka, Kanmuri, and myself. Wasn't there supposed to be someone else? Hadn't someone else asked me to bring him here? My inability to remember that detail was going to really bug me until I was able to remember. Vegeta asked me what I thought I was doing, apparently he noticed I was just standing there staring off into space, I had actually let the sword he had handed me drop from my grasp and it was lying on the ground. I wasn't really sure what to tell him since I couldn't remember much myself, so I just picked the sword up and didn't bother answering him. He gave me a bit of a dirty look but then continued with the lesson.

The lesson that followed was basically just a sequence of using our swords in sparring matches with the other students and one final sparring match where it was everyone in the class against Vegeta. Between each of the matches Vegeta and Serena were going around and noticing where we were doing well and where it was not so well, as well as showing us some new moves to try in the next match. Serena was the one who clearly knew more about the swordplay itself while Vegeta was noticing more things to do with speed, focus, keeping our defenses up as to not allow our opponent an opening… I did rather poorly in that area since I noticed my mind was still frequently wandering off to try to think of who I was supposed to bring to the training class.

"That's it!" I suddenly said in the middle of a training match against Kanmuri, "It's Mzzkc!"

"Raven!" Vegeta said from off to my left, "You might want to try paying attention to your opponent considering that if this was a real battle you would have just been relieved of your head! What is this about Mzzkc?"

I told Vegeta that I had just remembered who was missing from the training session, I had been intending to go get Mzzkc and bring him back to join in on the training. I was asking myself how I could have managed to forget that considering I had told Mzzkc I would do it, but now I had screwed that part up… but maybe I could still go find Mzzkc and bring him back, it wouldn't matter if I was in the dream much longer as long as I managed to get Mzzkc back here. Completely ignoring Vegeta I opened a portal while focusing on Mzzkc and went through it. Unfortunately, however, I didn't find my way to Mzzkc, the only thing I found was my way to waking up.

Note: Tonight I have noticed that my list of goals doesn't seem to be shrinking any even as I complete some of my goals… I'm adding them as quickly as I can complete them! First was to pick up MoSh and do some training with Vegeta, who has said I can use my WILD's for other things and try to train in a DILD, but I don't trust my DILD's to be consistent enough to make sure I get any training in. This training session was a lot like others, so I won't go into extreme detail, just to put we did some speed trials to continue increasing our speed, then trained with swords against each other, together against one stronger opponent, and together against a large number of opponents. Vegeta said both of us are showing a lot of improvement in a short period of time. Other goals included the continuing attempt at a shared DDO dream, finding Xildron, and the next task of the year which is showing humans how to make fire. My WILD was taken up with Vegeta, the rest of the night was fragmented, but here it is…

*Xildron*
I was lucid and I was working on my goal to find Xildron. I don't remember the beginning of this dream nor how I became lucid, and that really isn't important to the part of the dream I remember, anyway. I was in the break room at my school surrounded by other students. Dennis was bugging me. He was saying something about opening interdimensional portals in games. I told him I could open a real interdimensional portal, but he didn't seem to believe me. I really didn't care. Nick was saying there are only two dimensions to work with and he had already seen both of them. I also ignored Nick as I focused my mind on finding Xildron. I focused on the description Walms had given me about Xildron… I focused on both the description of the human Xildron had been changed into at the same time as I focused on the dragon he was supposed to be. I realized I didn't even know for sure what kind of energy he used, dark or light… I had been assuming Xildron used dark like Walms, but then again everyone knows what three words make up the word assume… ass-you-me. I focused more on the description and the situation than on the energy form since I wasn't sure. I was only vaguely aware of Dennis and Nick bugging me and asking what I was doing, I heard someone say I looked constipated… and finally a portal opened. That left the people around me all stunned. I ignored their stupid reactions and went into the portal, hoping to find Xildron on the other side of it. I exited the portal and had a look around. I barely got a chance to register that there was a red sky before I was hit in the face with a huge blast of energy that pushed me back through the portal. Witchblade formed instantly to protect me, but I was still pushed back into the break room of my school where both Dennis and Nick had been peering into my portal after me… and of course I crashed into both of them with intense force, slamming them through the next wall… and they had no Witchblade to protect them. I stood up and saw Dennis and Nick were sprawled at weird angles on the floor, they looked dead. My only thought was, "What the fuck was that?!"

*I Have a Gambling Problem*
I was supposed to go to school. I didn't feel like going. I had some extra time, and I wanted to do something else. The last thing I wanted to do was show up early for a class I hated. My ethics class was where I was supposed to be going, and it was the last place I wanted to go. I stopped at an arcade, thinking maybe there was a video game in there that might distract me for a bit and get me relaxed before I had to go to that horrible class. The arcade was huge, rows and rows of arcade games, all making beeps, buzzes, other strange noises, and loud music. I walked down the aisle and saw numerous games that I really wanted to play, but there was only one problem… the games were all so expensive! I had some money, but I didn't have nearly enough to get any significant play out of any of the games. Maybe one play and then I would be flat broke. I continued wandering through the arcade, feeling more annoyed rather than more relaxed as I had intended, and then I found a slot machine. Weird… I looked at a few of the units and noticed something weird about one of them. The cover to the wheels where the symbols showed up was cracked. It was just possible to get something in there… I was able to push a pencil through and move the wheels with the eraser part… and select what symbols appeared. Hmmm… I put some money in and pulled the lever. The colorful symbols flashed by on the wheels until they finally stopped, with a spot where I knew I had won nothing. I moved one of the wheels by one symbol so that I would at least win something. Money came out into the tray; it had accepted the new position as the final position even though I had cheated! I looked around and did that a few more times. Each time I did it I managed to win a small amount. I didn't want to get greedy with this since I was cheating, but it seemed they were also cheating by charging such outrageous prices for their games. I collected my quarters and then I stopped… I hadn't even thought about there possibly being video cameras there… what if I had been seen? Might security guards be coming for me even now? Shit! I practically ran down the aisles and between the game consoles and out into the parking lot, half surprised that I made it all the way. I got in my car and left, expecting to be followed at any minute…

*Down With the Sickness II*
I was at my new job, which strangely enough, was at a lab doing research work even though my education is in computer operations and game design. That didn't seem strange to me in the dream, though. It seemed completely normal. I was looking through a microscope, watching a virus… the virus was on the viewing slide with some blood cells.

Small pieces of the virus kept breaking off, and then those pieces touched another cell, that cell became a viral cell. That meant it spread very fast, and in almost no time at all it had consumed every single healthy cell on the slide. There were people who had this virus. My goal was to help find an antidote… a vaccine… something that could save those who were sick and prevent more people from becoming sick. It was one nasty bug, I had also discovered it is easily transmitted from person to person, or to other animals, through the air… it was airborne… and just inhaling a single cell could prove fatal since it reproduced so quickly. This virus was so easily passed from one person or animal to another that merely having the virus land on your skin can prove fatal since the virus immediately attacks the skin cells… I put on a biohazard suit and went into a treatment room where there were people with various stages of the disease, we were trying different treatments that looked promising, but nothing had worked. I returned to the lab after checking on the patients. When I took off my biohazard suite, I found there was a hole in the suit… right over the left elbow… there was no way I could have not been exposed. I looked at my arm, I was sure that was where the infection would start… and there was nothing to be done for it. I went to the sink and scrubbed the area with anti-viral soap… but I was sure that wouldn't help, my cells were already being infected, it was just a matter of time before I would die… or maybe not! My first thought was to just give up, but that wasn't going to happen. No chance. I would resist this sickness through sheer strength of will! I was not going to die!

Note: Tonight's goals included further training with Vegeta, to which MoSh wanted to come… I wanted to search for Xildron, about whom I learned from another dreamer. Now that I have a bit more information about him I wanted to try to search for him. I also have the continuing goals of completing the tasks of the year, sharing a DDO dream with Tigress where both of us remember, and trying to get more healing dreams in like I used to… of course this can be done in conjunction with other goals… With my goals in mind, I slipped into a WILD…

As I entered my WILD I took a few minutes to look around. I found myself in MoSh's inner world looking at MoSh's house which was, once again, completely different than when I last saw it. I took only a couple minutes to look at MoSh's brand new house, who is it that keeps giving him new houses all of the time, anyway, before going up to the door and knocking. The door opened and MoSh greeted me as he came out onto the porch. When he said to open a portal, however, I stopped him there and said he really needed to take a look at his own house from the outside. He asked why, he wouldn't remember it anyway. I said it is possible that he would remember the house… I was going to hope he would, anyway.

MoSh followed me out onto the grass in front of his house where a black dog ran over to greet us looking happy. I turned MoSh around and pointed at his house. It looked a lot like this picture except the front porch was larger as was the deck above it, and there were curved bay windows on either side of the front door. Asuka was on the deck over the front entry area, calling down to MoSh and waving to him; she called out a hello to me, as well. MoSh turned around and surveyed the house, paused to pet the dog, surveyed the house again, then turned to me. He said it is nice, asked what the big deal was. I told him it wasn't the same house as it had been on past days. He seemed to brush that idea off and said of course it was the same house, houses don't just up and change of their own accord, do they? I opened a portal to the area outside of Vegeta's house after figuring I wasn't going to get anything else out of MoSh.

MoSh and I stepped out of the portal to find we were face to face with Vegeta, who had apparently been there waiting for us. I asked how long he had been waiting; I didn't really want to train with a cranky Vegeta who had been waiting too long… He said that of course he had just come out when he felt our energy approaching. He had returned a short time ago from Walms' place, where he had found Walms this time, though he was not convinced Walms had been up to his usual standard of lucidity. I commented to him that if Walms was dreaming, there was somewhere around a 95% chance he was lucid. But apparently Vegeta didn't want to take any time up with discussing how lucid or non-lucid Walms might have been… he was ready to get straight to business. He had us do some speed tests. I watched MoSh fly through them at such speeds I could hardly see him move at all, I was sure I was nowhere near that fast. Vegeta came over to me and looked at me as if he had just heard that thought. He said that to begin with, I am not in competition with MoSh… and second, if I could see myself move I would see pretty much the same thing, so stop focusing on MoSh and focus on my own training.

The next part of the training was with both Vegeta and Serena as we moved onto swords. This part of the training involved using swords only, not to be supplemented by any powers or aids, so that immediately ruled out the using of my Witchblade sword, which was a bit disappointing. Instead, Serena brought out a pair of swords that were identical to each other, handing one of them to MoSh and one of them to me as she arrived. She then proceeded to demonstrate her skill on a fighting dummy, executing some flashy moves I have never seen before, but it looked like she hadn't even touched the dummy. It looked like she hadn't touched the dummy, that is, until she was done and the dummy turned to pieces almost as small as dust. Having demonstrated her speed and skill, we moved on to training on various sword techniques with Serena and Vegeta's help. The training included some fighting more dummies, some sparring between MoSh and myself; I changed one of the dummies into Dennis before hacking it to bits, but Vegeta seemed to think that was more of a distraction than a motivation. With Vegeta's time dilation we got a good training session in.

Note: My goals tonight included training with Vegeta if he wasn't otherwise occupied playing around with Walms before going to find the dragon man, I'm going to call him Dragor for the purposes of this record, I found a few days ago that needed to be healed. He had been hanging around with two other individuals which Q has described as the worst kind of evil… but as evil as they are, they are even more lazy than they are evil… so when left on their own, they just get drunk a lot, talk about death and destruction, and occasionally bully someone who has annoyed them. So technically I don't have to fight them if I can get Dragor separated from them so I can deal with him on his own. Keeping my goals in mind I fell asleep and slipped into a WILD…

This time I remembered right away that I was going to pick up MoSh before going to see Vegeta for training. But I also remembered that there was a chance Vegeta would not even be there when we arrived. So before going to pick up MoSh I would go make sure our sensei was there to do the training. I opened a portal to Vegeta's house and stepped through it only to see Vegeta was right there waiting for me. He asked me if I wasn't going to bring MoSh this time. I said I had come by to make sure Vegeta was there just in case he had gone off to find Walms, as there was no need to bring MoSh here if there was no one here to train us. Vegeta said he had gone to find Walms, who had told him he was busy with something else and then disappeared. Since Vegeta was there, I opened a portal to go find MoSh.

I stepped through the portal into MoSh's inner world to find his house had once again changed dramatically, in fact this was the most dramatic change yet. I was not looking at a house now, but an actual castle! The houses on either side of MoSh's house had been pushed aside to make room for the larger structure of MoSh's castle, causing them to look rather cramped on both sides. MoSh came out of the castle, greeting me as he came over to me. Pointing at the castle, I asked MoSh what was up with the castle, was he now a king? Should I be addressing him as 'your royal highness' now that he was living in a castle? MoSh didn't say anything, he just stood there and gave me a really weird look. Maybe it was just my perception of his home that was getting screwed up and the actual home wasn't changing at all.

Vegeta was waiting for us when MoSh and I came through the portal back into my inner world. He didn't waste any time with getting on with the training. As has been happening, my memories of the actual training are rather sketchy. What I can tell you is that Vegeta used his time dilation and caused the training session to go on for a considerable length of time before I finally woke up after only about an hour of sleep.

Note: Tonight I really don't remember anything other than some fragments. My WILD successfully went to another training session with Vegeta, although the one difference here was that MoSh came with me. There were also a few other fragments, but they seemed pretty nonsensical and they were also non-lucid, but here is what I remember.

*Vegeta's Class*
My WILD started with me in my inner world. Instead of going directly to Vegeta's class, however, I opened a portal and stepped through into MoSh's inner world where I found myself looking at yet another unfamiliar house.

I wondered if the house really keeps changing or if my perception of it is screwed up for some reason. I paused to look at the different house for only a short time before going up to the front door and knocking on it. I surveyed the surrounding area while waiting for MoSh or Asuka to come to the door, noting that the rest of the area seemed to remain mostly consistent from one visit to the next one. The door opened and MoSh came out, he appeared ready to go. The big question was whether or not he was lucid and if he would remember any of this dream. Looking at the house one more time, I asked MoSh why his house kept changing. MoSh gave me a strange look as if he thought I was completely mental. I decided not to pursue the matter any further and opened a portal to my inner world just outside of Vegeta and Serena's house. Vegeta approached MoSh and me as soon as we exited the portal, seeming to survey both of us as we entered. He took a closer look at MoSh before saying we should get to training, he knew the exact thing MoSh needed to work on. As I have indicated, I don't remember the training itself very clearly, which Vegeta doesn't seem to see as a problem.

*Computer Fish*
I was at a computer store browsing various laptops that were on display. It wasn't myself that I was looking at laptops for, I was looking at the laptops for a friend, though I no longer remember the name of the friend. I poked around at a few laptops that I didn't think could be used for much more than paperweights, they were just too old and slow to be used for anything worthwhile. Even the internet would run at a snail's pace on one of those. I wondered why the computer store I was in even bothered keeping those old dinosaurs on display at all. After searching for what seemed like forever I finally found one computer hidden in the back corner that looked like it was at least somewhat decent. I knew the friend I was shopping for didn't need a top of the line model, but he did want to be able to surf the internet at a decent rate and maybe have a couple other applications running at the same time without crashing the whole system. The computer was password protected, so I started entering guesses until a salesperson came over and gave me the correct code. But now the computer was stuck at a fish screen saver…

The screen saver was teeming with fish of all colors and sizes; I quickly became distracted from my computer shopping as I manipulated the screen saver to produce more and more outrageous fish on the screen. The salesperson came back and said the computer was for serious customers only and asked me to leave. I knew how to modify the screen saver now, so I thought I could continue playing with it on my home computer.


*Indestructible*
I was walking with my friend Alicia down a dark and creepy alley. A light on the back of a building flickered and went out as Alicia and I passed it; I couldn't help but wonder what we were coming this way for at all. The alley way wasn't really much of a shortcut, shaving only a very short distance off of our trip, and it was very creepy.

We were near the end of the alley when several big thugs stepped out of the shadows and boxed Alicia and me in. Alicia was hiding behind me and whimpering, clearly afraid of what the goons might have in mind. The dim light from the moon reflected off of a blade that one of the men was holding up to show us. He said if we handed over all of our money and jewelry then no one would get hurt. One of the other goons stepped forward and accepted Alicia's purse as she willingly handed it over. Checking my pockets, I realized I didn't have any money or any valuables at all on me. My purse was at home on my bed where I had forgotten to pick it up before leaving to meet Alicia at the park. When I told the thugs this, however, they didn't seem to believe me. The look on the face of the goon in front of me could have curdled milk as he came forward and said he would have either my money or my blood. When I told him I didn't have any money he motioned to the other goons who grabbed my arms while he drove his blade into my stomach all the way up to the hilt. I reflexively doubled over in anticipation of pain, but the pain didn't come. The thug did a double take at the confused look I gave him and stabbed me several more times. No pain, no weakness, no nothing. I started laughing at the man, asking him if that was really the best he could do. He stabbed me in the chest several times, then proceeded to stab his buddy on my right as if thinking somehow the knife wasn't working properly. His buddy fell over, bleeding with a shocked look on his face, bleeding out right in front of us. A look of terror crossed the thug's face as he turned his back and ran down the alley screaming like a little girl, leaving his other buddy still looking perplexed.

Note: I downloaded a new sound file, Yoga Nidra, which is a meditation track meant to aid in lucid dreaming. I used it for the first time tonight to aid in getting into my WILD. My goals tonight included doing the TotM by multiplying myself, and also some training. I have been feeling like I need to train due to having lost a fight to another DV member way too easily… and I also want alternative abilities that aren't power based in case I get attacked by Templars again and my powers don't work. So with those goals in mind, I used the new meditation sound along with my light / sound machine and slipped into a WILD…

I was in a green meadow near a house. I recognized the place as the house where Vegeta and Serena live. I walked towards the house. I saw Vegeta was off to the right. He came over to meet me. He asked if I was finally ready to accept training. He said that a fighter who will only train themselves has a fool for a student. He said he knew this for a fact because he used to be like that, and it was only when he started accepting help from others that he was able to boost his power level to what it is now. He powered up, creating a bright field of energy around him. It was a powerful energy field, and yet I knew that this energy was a mere fraction of his true power… and a small fraction at that. To prove that fact, Vegeta powered up a bit more. His energy field was casting a bluish white glow over the meadow. I still knew that what I was seeing was still a small fraction of Vegeta's true power.

Vegeta paused, and then he continued. . He looked me over as if sizing me up. He nodded a couple of times. He said he didn't see why I would have a problem with my skills and power level, but if I did and wanted to do something about it, it was time to train, and he was the one to train me He said that he has already seen I have a good power level and good skills in battle. He said the first thing I should work on is my speed. After all, an opponent who cannot hit you cannot defeat you. And after making your opponent miss is a good time to move around for a counter attack before the opponent even knows what hit them. He asked if I was ready for some serious training. Only serious training produces serious results. He asked if I was ready to commit to this… I said I would do my best. He said that's not good enough. I have to be committed to the training, coming in dreams w henever I get the chance, training when on my own… There is no, "I'll do my best," there is only "Yes, I will succeed!" or "No." If the answer is no, we are done. If yes, let's get started. I said yes. He insisted I say, "Yes, I will succeed!" and put confidence into it. Saying that made me believe I could do it.

So Vegeta and I started training. He told me to block all of his punches. He came over to me and did a Kachu Tenshin Amaguuriken as done by Ranma Saotome on the anime / manga Ranma 1/2. I blocked a couple of the punches, but Vegeta was as fast as lightning… I didn't block nearly all of them.

When that round was over, Vegeta looked at me again and said speed is definitely a place where I need improvement. He said to follow him and we would train for speed in the same manner Ranma Saotome trained… So Vegeta set up several different scenarios. The first one was right off of the Ranma 1/2 series… catching a number of fish from a tank and moving them to another tank… and the fish were piranha…

and the goal was to do it fast enough not to be bitten. The second task was also off of Ranma 1/2… the goal was to pluck a number of chestnuts out of a blazing fire without getting burned.

Then he came up with a few ideas of his own. A bunch of small flying drones in a swarm around me, they were basically drone bees. He said to grab them all out of the air, get them fast enough that I don't get stung. He said this exercise would require both speed and accuracy. Then there was the maze… a path of twists and turns with obstacles that would pop up at the last moment… and the goal was to speed through the maze as fast as possible without hitting any of the obstacles or the walls. He said that was for speed and reaction time. And don't start thinking the obstacles would be in the same place each time, because they wouldn't. It is necessary to expect the unexpected and be ready to act accordingly. His last one was a combination of the other two of his… fly through the maze and pluck the drones out of the air as I went. The goal was to capture all the drones and complete the course without hitting obstacles or walls. He added that just in case it needed to be said, I was to do all of these tasks without relying on my powers… except for in the maze, where I could use flight.

So I started working on those tasks. He had me starting on the piranha and chestnuts ones. I had done it for a short while when I felt the dream slipping. I said I would dilate time. He said not to. He said he would take care of the time dilation, I should focus on my exercises. So I continued. The dream stabilized. Vegeta continued watching me do the tasks, occasionally intervening to give me advice on picking up my speed. It seemed like I was training like that for a long time, and I could clearly see improvement even after that short time of training. Vegeta also said he had noticed a definite increase in my speed. He said if I kept that speed up for the beginning of our next session, the fish and the chestnuts were too easy for me… time to move on to the drones, then the maze, then both. And this time when everything faded, I woke.

Note: It felt like I had been in the dream state for a very long time. I am not good at judging how long, but several hours at least. When I woke up, I looked at my clock and saw I had only been asleep for an hour. Vegeta sure knows his time dilation!