lucid

04/05/13

Field of Nightmares
I fall asleep listening to a hypnotic recording intended to help me achieve a lucid dream… and successfully WILD. I am lying on a blanket in the middle of a green grassy field that the hypnosis program has described. The field is filled with green grass and is very peaceful. At least that's what I am expecting to see when I open my eyes. But instead there are several people right near me and the rest of the field is filled with demonic looking creatures. The people right next to me are Templars, I can feel hostile energy radiating off of them. It looks like the one in front is about to say something, I really am not in the mood to hear it. He says all of the pain can be over if I just return what is theirs. No more attacks, they will leave me alone. I don't believe him. I use the song spell Battery by Metallica to call lightning from the sky to strike him where he stands. The Templars around me are all struck by lightning and disappear. A portal opens in the sky as all the demonic creatures move in to attack me. I hear Nomad yell a couple of loud expletives as he engages the demons in battle. I form Witchblade into a sword and cut down an enemy that tries to jump on me, as it tries to tear me open with talons. The fight around me escalates. There are more people there. When I fell asleep I felt so alone, but it is clear I am not alone at all. I see Spike, Q, Sephiroth, Vegeta, Bakura, Link, Altaïr, and I see there are numerous others but I don't get a clear enough look at them to identify them. A large explosion comes from Vegeta's direction, I look over and see he is powering up… and just his energy aura has incinerated numerous enemies around him. I use Damage, Inc. to call forth fireballs to hit the enemies. As the fighting dies down I see the field of grass is covered with disgusting stuff. Even though we won the battle the place has been destroyed. Nomad is playing a didgeridoo and cleaning up some of the crap. I use the song Full Moonlight to collect more of the crap and neutralize it. The field is beginning to look peaceful again. I tell Nomad we can go heal Winter, he has told me her fibromyalgia is bothering her again. He says he knows I need healing first, we could both use healing after the constant attacks from Templars. We go through a portal to the balancing pools on the moon. I focus healing energy through Nomad, aiming to heal the last of his sores. I slip into the warm water of the pools and it is very relaxing. I sink to the bottom of the pool and fall asleep in the dream as I wake up.

Retribution
I enter into a WILD in my room and I am surrounded by Templars yet again. I wonder where they keep coming from. How are there always so many Templars? The hostile energy is coming off of them in waves, they are all glaring at me, but it looks more comical than threatening. The energy coming off of them is not comical. I remember I had a goal for dreams… to WILD, then teleport, then manipulate the elements. And I can get payback on some Templars at the same time! I focus on one of the Templars, using psychic energy to read into his thoughts. Not getting much right now. I use the spell song Master of Puppets to clear the signal. He's thinking about punching the guy to his right in the face for some thoughtless remark he made earlier. But not now, later, he is thinking they need to focus on the enemy right now. Since I have a view of his thoughts I ask him where their base of operations is. He tells me to fuck myself, but the image goes through his mind even though he doesn't speak of it. It is located somewhere in the deserts of Nevada, mostly underground. I have a clear view of it. I focus on teleporting all of us… both the Templars and me… back to that location. At first nothing happens. I think it is because of the attacks. I use Whiplash to send their attacks back at them. During the brief time the attacks cease the teleportation works. We are now in a rather plain looking room with computers all around, the Templars look a bit surprised to be here. I tell them I didn't want them to miss out on what comes next. I drop an immortal fire right there in the small room, sending an explosion of flames out from my location, incinerating everything in its path. I hear that one of the Templars has a chance to get out, "Oh, shit…" before the flames surround him. The flames die away and the place is now in ruins. I feel considerably better than I did when I first fell asleep surrounded by pounding attacks. Much better. I am looking around at the ruins as I wake.

04/04/13

The Future Told
I am in a strange place, a place I don't recognize. I look around to see where I am and I see I am not alone there. MoSh is there with me. He is looking out over a river, gazing into the distance. I see some spotlights come on in the distance, and I head in that direction. MoSh follows me. I have no idea where I am going or why I might be there. It turns out that there are spotlights shining off of a small building, and the lights are shining right on Jake and Oy. The lights don't seem to indicate anything, however, as nothing happens. Maybe they were set off by motion sensors. Jake finally moves and approaches the building. I faintly hear it asking for a password, which Jake first gets wrong, but then he supplies it. The door opens and he disappears inside. I have no idea what I am here for, but I get the idea I should stick around for a while. It isn't too long before a man and Andy approach the location. The motion sensor lights come on again, highlighting the two newcomers. I wonder if Jake and Oy have gotten somewhere safe. I pull MoSh closer to me and tell him we should check on Jake, just to be sure we aren't there to get him out of trouble. He doesn't seem lucid. I think it would be a good idea to have a cloak of invisibility like the one on Harry Potter.

I pull the cloak out of one of the pockets of my Assassin's robes, though the pocket looks too small to hold the cloak… and then I put the cloak over MoSh and myself before leading MoSh towards the building. I get there just in time to see the man and Andy disappear into the door. Before it closes I slip in behind them, pulling Andy with me. I briefly wonder if Andy's sensors will still be able to see MoSh and me even though we're under the cloak… the door clicks closed behind us. I can only hope not. I see no sign of Jake or Oy. Apparently they have gotten to safety, so all MoSh and I have to do is stay out of the way. The man makes a report on some kind of computer, Andy makes noises that sound like an old fashioned modem that is on its last legs… It seems the man is being coerced into doing something he doesn't really want to be doing, though it's not enough to get him to tell what he knows to someone and try to put a stop to it. Andy and the man leave, MoSh and I sneak out with them. We wait outside for Jake to emerge and then follow him as he sneaks back towards the house where he has been staying with his friend. Jake seems a bit distracted, and does not notice that Andy has doubled back. Just as Andy is about to round a corner and spot Jake crossing the river I decide it would be better if he found me.

I drop the cloak of invisibility and call out to him. When he questions my being out in the middle of the night I tell him I sometimes have trouble sleeping, and the sound of the river helps. He eyes me strangely. I think maybe to distract him with a horoscope since he seems to like those. I ask if he'll give my horoscope. MoSh is now standing beside me and says he also wants his horoscope. Andy cheerfully agrees, or at least he sounds cheerful. I see Jake round the bend and look over at MoSh and me, Andy is facing away from him. He freezes briefly and then continues quickly as Andy is giving horoscopes. I am not really that impressed with his horoscopes, though a couple of the things he says are relevant… he recognizes that both MoSh and I are from a very long ways away, though I am not sure if he means farther than the others or if I am just assuming because I know it to be true. He says MoSh will meet a tall and beautiful stranger… which sounds like what he has told the others. He says nothing about a stranger in my future, though says I already know a figure in the shadows that I am destined to be with. He starts to go but MoSh distracts him this time, asking about the tall and beautiful stranger. Andy says it may take some time but it will be worth the wait. And things are not always what they appear to be. MoSh wants a better answer than that, Andy seems to want to go. Andy now says he has a horoscope that says we will be victorious against the wolves. I already knew that. MoSh doesn't care about the wolves right now, he wants to know more about the beautiful stranger. Andy says MoSh's destiny is there waiting for him to claim it if he will just reach. In the distance I see Jake disappear into the house where he has been staying. I am now sure he will be safe. MoSh is still talking to Andy but I don't hear any more because I wake.

04/01/12

Immortal Fire Shield
I am in my room, sitting on my bed. I am surrounded by Templars. There are pulsing energy waves coming off of them, I am under constant attack from the Templars. I look around me at the Templars, thinking I want them to go away from me. I drop an immortal fire spell right there in my room, a wall of fire extended from me and blasted all the Templars in the area. I then formed the energy from the flames into a shield to keep the Templars away.

I wondered how long that might work for, or if it would work at all. I remembered that I had also said I would do the same thing to clear Templars away from Nomad. I focus on opening a portal to find Nomad. The portal opens and I go through. On the other side I find Nomad is surrounded by Templars. I go over to Nomad and drop an immortal fire right there, blasting away more Templars. I formed the energy into a shield around Nomad to keep the Templars away. I looked at the shield, which looked like a sphere of flames. Nomad looks at the shield and seems pleased with it. I tell him we can get on with our normal healings… so we go to the balancing pools on the moon. In the pools I focus on healing Nomad's foot issues. Winter is also there, relaxing in the warm waters. I focus healing energy through her, directed at easing her fibromyalgia. After that is done Nomad opens a portal to go see his friend, where I focus some more healing energy through him. I can feel the effects of using so much healing energy, and it feels good. I am in a very good place as everything around me fades to black and I woke.

03/31/13

Night of Healing
I am in my room, I am surrounded by Templars. I don't want to deal with Templars right now. I have healing to do. I get out of bed, trying to ignore the energy attacks coming off of them. I open a portal to the moon. I go through the portal to find the healing springs. Nomad is already there. He is making out with Winter. I find it a bit awkward to interrupt. I don't wait for long before they notice me there. I tell them I am there to heal. We all go into the healing springs. The water is warm and comforting. I focus healing energy through both of them. Energy flowing through Nomad's foot and all through Winter's body. After the healing is done for now Winter seems to be in a deep sleep. I ask Nomad about his friend. He says yes, his friend. Needs help with depression. I tell Nomad I'll be glad to do what I can. I tell him he'll have to open the portal to get us there. Nomad opens a portal, and we both go through it. On the other side we are in a very barren place. There is one person in the place, all by himself, surrounded by a cloud of darkness. I see one of his eyes is obstructed by scar tissue. I think maybe that needs healing, too. I focus on the song Full Moonlight from the Devil Hunter Yohko soundtrack. Positive energy forms and flows around Nomad's friend, sweeping some of the shadow away. I focus healing energy on the eye. Nomad is also playing music. The area is filled with healing energy. Soon the song is over, but the healing energy remains. There are forms around the borders of the healing energy field. I approach them. Are they figments of a nightmare? No... they're Templars... What are they doing here? They're attacking me with those energy pulses. I hear voices talking all around me, I can't make out what they are saying. It gets louder and louder, drowning out all other sounds. I think Nomad is trying to talk to me. The attacks are getting stronger, but I am about to wake up. The scene fades to black and I wake up. I have the phrase, "May the father of understanding guide us," repeating over and over in my mind. I am waking slowly as that phrase repeats in my mind. This is a phrase said when someone is initiated into the Templars... why am I thinking it now? Someone is trying to turn me into a Templar? I am thinking that it will not work when I notice the sound has changed some. I now hear my cat meowing loudly. "May the father of understanding MEOW!" I am awakened by my cat meowing to get out of my room.

03/28/13

Back to the Night
I am with some other people in a barren place, there is no sign of life anywhere near us. I look around and see who is with me. It looks like a quest group from DDO. I am dressed like a paladin in black armor with a large sword, Nomad is decked out in black armor and has a big axe… There are other people there, too, I see someone who is a humanoid fox. I think it must be Pablo. I see him as his long fluffy tail disappears down into a cave entrance. Others are following. I follow the group, not noticing everyone who is with us. I do catch a glimpse of Spike dressed in leather armor, black leather armor, he is looking HOT!

We all descend into the darkness, into the caves. The caves are like an endless labyrinth of passages. I hear the screams of people being tortured echoing through the passages, screams of pain I wish I could block out of my mind. We explore through the halls and find an area that looks like a prison of some kind. There are cages with people locked up inside, the people aren't all human. In fact I don't think any of them are purely human. I see some centaurs in a cage much too small for them to hardly move,

a tank of foul looking water with merpeople in it, some bird cages with fairies locked inside them. There is a guard pacing down the hallway between the cages, periodically stopping to mock or taunt the prisoners and laugh. The guard looks partly like a demon and partly like a Templar… a Templar bastard… my first thought is to want to get rid of him, but before I do something stupid I see another guard there. If I'd attacked the first one the second one would have sounded an alarm and alerted every Templar in the place. Instead I see the humanoid fox sneak right up behind the Templar guard and snag the keys right off of him without being noticed. Pablo brings the keys back and we start unlocking cages as the guards pass, letting prisoners quietly out. I open a portal to the healing glen, the prisoners go through to safety. This is going smoothly until we reach an area with some giants chained to the walls. The giants aren't content to be silently released. As Nomad unlocks one of them he pulls free and tries to step on one of the demon Templars. An alarm goes off and a fight ensues. The demon Templars are coming from all directions. I am focused on the fight now, using my sword to cut down Templars near me and using Battery by Metallica to call down bolts of lightning on those farther back. We fight to hold off the Templars just long enough to allow the prisoners to be evacuated to the healing glen. Once all the prisoners we have found are free we follow them through the portal, closing it immediately behind us so the Templars can't follow. I look around the healing glen but then I wake.
 
Halls of Healing
I am at the balancing pools on the moon with Nomad. He is relaxing in the water, cleansing some disgusting stuff off of him. I focus healing energy into his foot, focusing on making the healing proceed quickly. I think the problem I have with dream healing is sometimes I quit before the healing is done… so I won't do that this time, keep healing it until it is completely gone. Nomad wants to go somewhere else, says something about Templars wanting to destroy us, have us end up dead, in prison, or in a loony bin… I tell him they can't touch us here in the dream state. He says he hates them for what they've done. I tell him to try not to, I let my hate go too far and I sent people to the Dark Realm, a place no one should ever see. It is poison that will kill us just as surely as direct Templar attacks. He says it is time to go back to the Temple of Angels to be healed. I tell him we could probably both use healing. I open a portal focused on getting to where he wanted to go. On the other side of the portal we are in a temple in the clouds.

There are angels there, they have healing potions. There is someone else there with us, a man who looks to be part bat… a form of batman? He looks familiar, and Nomad clearly knows him, refers to him as Koomo. I try to remember who Koomo is, my mind isn't entirely clear about it, though I am sure we have seen him in dreams before. Koomo is thanking us for helping free his people from some demon wraith. He says he has gifts… for me? I don't feel I have done anything to deserve gifts, but it feels like a bad idea to refuse… he gives me a golden amulet with a dark crystal in it, says it will help keep the dark and light energies balanced. When I touch it, it forms into large raven wings on my back. He also hands me a bracelet, golden with a dark crystal, that transforms into a snake with jet black eyes. He hands me a golden tiara that also has black crystals in it, I feel a bit disoriented when I put it on, he says that is normal, he says something about sonar…

what the tiara has given me is the eagle vision off of the Assassin's Creed games, I can see the auras of people around me, all of them in the area are glowing blue, indicating allies. I find I can will my vision back to normal. I thank Koomo for the gifts, but he says he has one more… but I have to fight him for it. He tells me to fight him. He throws an attack at me, which I dodge before taking to the sky. He is fighting me with a spear. I figure it is a good chance to try out what he just gave me. He attacks with the spear and I use the snake whip to pull it away from him. He dives to the ground, disappearing into a vast labyrinth that seems to radiate darkness. Maybe this is just a test to see if I can use what he gave me… so I activate eagle vision, and I can see him in the dark maze. His aura is now a swirl of blue and gold, indicating he is a target, but still an ally… which seems appropriate to the situation. So I dive into the maze and there is a fight between Zoomo and me, which he finally concedes I have won. I help him up. The spear he has been fighting with turns into a glowing ball of energy, which he says will form into anything I need at the time… armor, weapons… the golden energy flows around and fuses with my Witchblade, the Witchblade bracelet glowing with a golden light. Zoomo says something to Nomad, and I hear him saying something about his planet needing healing. I tell him I would be glad to help with that if I can. He says any healing would be helpful after the damage the demon wraith did during its rule. I make it a plan to do what I can there. We enter a chamber that is very relaxing, that must be one of the healing chambers… I am surrounded by some kind of comfort I can't really describe, and I fall asleep in the dream.
 
World Concert
I am flying in my Fire Valkyrie over a place I don't recognize. I look down and see there are cities down below, I still am not sure where I am, but I have a feeling as to what I need to be doing here. This place has too much negative energy, unstable negative energy, and I am here to help with that. So I broadcast a song out over the cities and mountains, broadcasting it so everyone can hear it. Transmitting through every receiver within range, which is every receiver in the world. I am broadcasting the song Touch My Heart. I follow that song with Liberate by Disturbed, and another anime song, Full Moonlight. The planet wide concert doesn't really take very long, but I can see the positive energy flowing over the surface down below as the healing songs have their intended effect. As the last song finishes I head back out into space, flying out through a solar system I don't recognize before I finally wake up.

03/27/13

Pools of Healing
I am in my room, in bed. Someone is yelling at me. That is all I am aware of at first. Who is it? I open my eyes and see there is a single Templar beside my bed and he seems to be in a bad mood. But I notice he doesn't seem to be sending off the attacks I have come to expect. He is asking questions. He wants to know something. I assume I know what he is talking about, but I assume wrong. I expect he will be wanting to know where I have hidden the thing I stole from them, instead he is asking what I did to someone. The three Templars that went through that portal aren't acting normal at all, what is wrong with them? I am a bit annoyed at this Templar being here yelling at me, my first reaction is to tell him I'll show him what I did to those other three… he falls silent and takes a step back, clearly not liking that idea. My mind clears and I remember that there were three Templars I got pissed at and sent to the Dark Realm. I'm not about to send another one there, but I am glad the idea of it has made him shut up. In fact I remember I had plans to get those three out of the Dark Realm, no one deserves to be left there. But first to the moon. I focus on opening a portal, and it opens right away. The Templar moves away from the portal. I tell him it leads to the balancing pools on the moon, not the Dark Realm… and then I go through the portal. I get to the other side and it is right next to the balancing pools.

Nomad is already in one of the pools and appears to be relaxing. I get into the pool and focus healing energy on his foot where he still has some sores, though the injuries look like they're improving. After doing that I let myself sink through the warm relaxing waters to the bottom of the pool where I am having no difficulty breathing the water. It smells fresh and clean. I am relaxing there as I fall asleep.

Out of the Darkness
I am with Nomad, Link, Altaïr, and Spike. I immediately don't like the place. We are in what looks like an underground hallway, part of a labyrinth perhaps, a long stone corridor that is illuminated only by torches set in the walls. The passage is stiflingly hot, the stone walls are practically too hot to touch. The look of the place isn't what I find worst about it, however. It's the sounds. From seemingly all around come the echoing sounds of people screaming in pain, like someone is being tortured. I wait for a moment for my mind to clear and then I remember I am actually there to get three people out, because this is probably the area of the Dark Realm they have been brought to. I sent them here, I need to get them out. I notice everyone else is wearing black, black versions of the usual Assassin robes, and I realize that is much harder to see against the dark stone than the white ones I have. So I change my white ones to black.

Someone I don't recognize comes down the hall, my first impression is that she is a Templar. But she seems to be helping us… well maybe she would be since the goal is to retrieve three Templars from the Dark Realm. She says she found the way through the labyrinth. There is a torture chamber, she shudders but offers no further description. Another scream of pain echoes through the halls making further description unnecessary. She says there are more than three of them there, she wasn't aware of which ones were the Templars I had sent here and who the others were. I figure it doesn't matter… if they're prisoners here they need to get out. We all follow the woman down some halls to a room of nightmares. I see a sight I am sure I have seen before. A man is naked in a metal cage over a fire, his skin is blistering and cracking as it burns, his face is a mask of pain but he is silent. Nomad says they will see about getting more free before we're discovered, though that probably won't take long. I go over to the man in the cage, he is not even aware of my presence. There is a demon of some kind watching him, completely absorbed by the sight. The demon is not paying any attention to me. The demon looks almost like a human, in fact if I hadn't already known it was a demon I might have thought it was a Templar… but a Templar wouldn't be torturing another Templar, would he? I charge my hidden blade with light energy and sneak up behind the demon, pumping him full of the stuff before he can sound an alarm. I open the cage with the half-dead Templar in it. There were three I sent here… where are the other two? I find the other two near where the first one was. The second one is another man, he is impaled on a pike that is set in fire… burning and impaled… and a demon is watching that. There is a woman in a small pit hogtied and there are bugs all over her, nasty demonic looking things, eating her alive… another demon is observing.

Somewhere around here someone must have gotten some attention, however, as the demons depart their posts and began gathering somewhere. I take that opportunity to get the other two free. I focus healing energy on them, healing up burns, bites, and other injuries, and blocking any pain. I see the others are there, and they have more prisoners with them. They are in an alcove, and I see there are demons searching the place. They seem a bit confused, and not sure where to find the intruders. The rescued prisoners all look like they're still in shock from their experience, they aren't very responsive. Nomad says they need more healing, and opens a portal to the Healing Glen where the crystal golem takes care of those who have been seriously hurt more than just physically. I'm not sure how many prisoners we rescued, though I am sure the three Templars I sent to the Dark Realm are the three I got out. I am thinking there are still more of them back in the prison, more of them that shouldn't be left there… but I'll not be getting them out now, I wake up.

03/26/13

Dark Deeds
I am in my room, I am in bed. I wake up in bed, hoping it is not time to get up yet. I look around and see there are Templars all around me, there is a strange energy pulsing off of them. It makes it hard to see them even when I am looking directly at them. The waves of energy coming off of them is holding me down, I have the idea it is holding me back in more ways than one. I am feeling quite pissed off at them for their constant attacks. I use the song Whiplash by Metallica to send their attack energy back at them. For a brief time I can see them clearly, a pulse of energy from me actually knocks them against the walls of my room. The attacks immediately resume. One of them says it's not going to stop until I return what I stole, return the artifact and they will leave me alone. I don't believe them. Instead I am getting pissed off. I use another Whiplash spell and send the energy back at them again, this time getting out of my bed and phasing through the wall. I remembered chatting with Nomad on Facebook, he had said there were Templars attacking him… so I decide to go help him with his Templar problems. The Templars attacks are making it hard to focus on opening a portal. They are really pissing me off. I use Whiplash again and open a vortex portal, I want to send them away to somewhere they won't like. Maybe then they'll learn to leave me alone. A vortex portal opens and pulls three of the Templars through it right away. Something comes back out of the portal… a wave of dark energy, it seems I have opened a portal somewhere I might have been better off not… The portal then closes, but before it does I see demons on the other side, the portal led to the Dark Realm, I'm not sure I like the idea of sending even Templars to the Dark Realm.

The wave of dark energy slams into me, knocking me back against the bed. My mind is filled with images of the three Templars I sent through the portal getting tortured, demons are laughing, people are screaming. I see images of one of them inside a metal box that is being heated, his skin is cracked and blistered… a second one, a woman, is tied to a bench and is being eaten alive by strange bugs… the third one is actually impaled on a spit and is being roasted alive over a fire… no, I didn't want that, not even for Templars… my anger is gone now, my next thought is I have to get them out of there, but I can't even move enough to get off my bed. Something is draining my energy, that attack that hit me from the Dark Realm? Everything fades to black. I can still hear the Templars crying out in pain and the demons laughing…

Queen of Night
I am on fire. But the fire is not burning me; it isn't that kind of fire. It is a purifying fire, and it is not burning me, rather it seems to be burning something off of me. As the strange substance is burned off of me it feels like I can breathe again, as if it had been suffocating me. I see I am not alone there. Spike and Altaïr are both right there with me, I see Nomad and MoSh not too far away. And I also see enemies. So many enemies. I realize my hands were tied behind me, not sure how that happened, I don't realize it until Altaïr is cutting the bonds with his blade. Spike starts to ask if I am ok, but then he is distracted by enemies. There is a big fight going on around us. The enemies… orcs? Templars? Templar orcs?

They are orcs, but they are dressed in Templar armor, clearly marked as Templars. I think they must be pissed off about me sending three of them to the Dark Realm. I'm not even particularly pleased about that incident. There is a huge fight going on all around me. Is this all about the fact it seems I had been captured? The Templar orcs are attacking my friends, and I start to feel a bit of the anger that led me to send some Templars to the Dark Realm to begin with. I don't want to let that feeling go too far this time, I still want to go get them out of there. No one should be left in the Dark Realm for the demons to be playing their sick games with. I still feel a dark energy inside, but I can keep it stable, so I focus on using it instead of getting rid of it. I transform into the form of a dark sorceress, still on fire… with the black wings of giant raven, somehow seems appropriate.

I use spell songs on the Templar Orcs, Damage Inc. by Metallica to throw balls of fire, Battery by Metallica to call lightning from the sky. The entire place sounds like a Metallica concert with an awesome light show to accompany it. Lyrics from a completely different song are going through my mind, "When the shadows remain in the light of day, on the wings of darkness we retaliate…" I can't think what song these lyrics are from… The entire fight is rather unfocused in my memory, it doesn't really seem to take very long before it is over. Then I am on the ground, I see I am in my white Assassin robes again… the dream is over. But it can't be, I still have to go to the Dark Realm and get those Templars out… I sent them there, it is my responsibility to set it right by getting them out. Nomad is right beside me, I look around and see the other people around are also friends. I tell Nomad I have to go to the Dark Realm and get someone out, he seems to think I need to rest. I try to get up, not having much progress. I tell him I have to go now, they're being tortured, I was wrong to send them there… but something has drained all my energy, things around me are fading to black.

03/24/13

Healing Springs
I am in the biodome on the moon. I am near the koi pond, though I don't immediately realize this since it has been quite a while since I have remembered being here. I see Nomad not far away. I don't have any recall of seeing him in a dream for quite a while, either. I go over and give him a big hug, telling him it's good to see him again. He says he has been seeing me in his dreams, have I not remembered? I tell him no, I haven't. I have had my goals to meet up with him, but my recall has been lacking. We walk over to the healing springs, the hot springs. The balancing pools. A place to go to stabilize all that unstable energy that is created by constant Templar attacks.

I dive into a pool, transforming into a mermaid as I hit the water. Nomad slips into the water. I go under and look for that spot on his left foot that has infected sores on it in the waking world. There are sores there, though they don't look as bad as the pictures of jungle rot I found on Google. I focus healing energy into the sores, gently rubbing the foot, willing the injuries to go away quickly. I swim around for a bit and then back to the surface. Nomad looks quite relaxed. I tell him I am really glad we have been talking online lately… it really helps me not feel so alone. He says I have never been alone. I tell him it is easy to feel alone when there is no one in the waking world I can talk to, at least not about the issues I have been having with the Templars… some people don't seem to want to hear about it, others would want to help and I don't want them to become targets… then there are times I have doubts that any of it is even real. He says that's what they want, is for me to doubt, to stop using my dream skills… don't let them win. I tell him having someone to talk to makes any doubt much less. I tell him I want to find a way to make them stop their attacks, or overcome the attacks… it is really fucking up my life. But I don't feel fucked up right now, I just feel relaxed. I sink back below the water and fall asleep in the dream.

Intruders
I am in my own room, lying in bed. I wake up and see I am not alone in my room. There are people there, several of them. What are those people doing in my room?! I sit up and look at them, they are Templars. There is strange energy radiating off of them, makes them hard to look at, hard to see. I tell them to get the fuck out of my room and leave me alone. One of them looks at me strangely as if he is surprised I can see him at all. The truth is it is hard to see him, hard to focus on him, but I don't let that on. I tell him yeah, I mean him, calling him double stupid since double ugly doesn't really apply… he's actually kind of hot. The energy coming off of the Templars gets briefly stronger, making them almost completely disappear from sight. I focus on the song spell Whiplash by Metallica, sending the energy waves right back at their sources. A pulse of energy radiates out from me like an explosion, knocking all of the Templars into perfect visibility as it knocks them into the walls of my room.

They all look a bit surprised, maybe even a bit dazed. There are more of them than I had thought. I had previously seen four, but there are six of them there, the room is quite crowded. For a bit I can see them all clearly, but the strange energy starts pulsing out from them again as if they were never interrupted. The force of the energy seems to be holding me down in my bed. I can barely breathe. Too much pressure. The Templars are disappearing again, so I use the song spell Whiplash again, sending out another pulse of energy. This time, before they could resume their attacks, I formed Witchblade into a sword and cut five of them down before they had a chance to recover. The sixth one didn't try to get away, he just said killing them would do me no good… return what I stole and the attacks would stop. Things could be a lot easier. I was pissed off, however, not in the mood to listen, and I cut the last Templar down before collapsing back into bed. I felt drained. Like they had been stealing all my energy. I fall asleep in the dream.

Wolf Wraiths
I am with some other people in a vast dead area, there is nothing but dead trees and barren ground for as far as the eye can see. The sky looks a dead gray color. I look at the other people there with me. It is Nomad, MoSh, Roland, Eddie, Susanna, and Jake. Nomad is riding on a large animal that I am not sure if it is canine or feline. I look in the direction they are looking and I see a bunch of cloaked figures on gray horses. My first thought is an army of ring wraiths from Lord of the Rings.

That can't be good. It is clear that the plan is to go down and attack them, I wonder how many of them there are. It looks like way too many. Nomad is aiming what looks like a sniper rifle at the group. He takes out a few on the edge of the group without making a sound. That luck doesn't continue, however, after the fifth one they take notice. Nomad shoots a few more before they realize where the attack is coming from. Now everyone in the group is attacking. I use the spell song Divide by Disturbed to multiply myself into many, I figure that will even up the odds a bit… though we are still seriously outnumbered. A fight ensues. I form Witchblade into a sword as I head into the fray, though guns are being fired and I wonder how I am not getting hit. I am probably moving too fast. I am on a white horse with fiery mane and tail, and the horse is as swift as the wind. I charge into the group, each instance of me on an identical horse, and cut down an enemy who is taking aim to shoot me. I see the enemy has a face… it is the face of a wolf. When he hits the ground, the wolf mask comes off. I don't see anything beneath it. I remember the Dark Tower series… these are the wolves of the Calla. I hear the others around me as I move through the group… each of me has a Witchblade sword and each of me takes down enemies as I go. I get a little disoriented during the fight, but finally I look around and see there are very few of the enemies left, I wonder if they retreated or if they are all dead. Nomad takes out a remaining enemy with what looks like a shotgun. MoSh quickly shoots two of them who are going for Eddie from behind. I see no more enemies approaching. I am about to go join the others but I wake.

Stalkers
I am in a restaurant of some kind, I am looking around for something to eat. I am thinking I should get something healthy so I don't gain a bunch of weight. I notice there are some people that seem to be following me around. I watch them for a while. Templars. I have no doubt in my mind that they are Templars. There is a strange energy radiating off of them, an energy that seems to drain me when it hits me. It also makes them hard to focus on. I wonder if anyone else in the room is noticing the effect. No one seems to be. Either they don't know what is causing the effect or maybe they aren't being affected by it at all. I turn to leave, and it is clear the Templars are going to follow me. I think I shouldn't even be seeing Templars… and I do a reality check. I pinch my nose and I can still breathe. One of the Templars is standing right beside me now. He says he told me killing them would do no good. My mind has wandered away from Templars, however. I am hungry. I look in the display case and I see the best looking chocolate cake I have ever seen.

Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and frosting flowers all over it. I tell the person behind the counter that I want that cake, the whole thing. He hands me the cake and I throw some money at him, not sure how much, but it must have been enough. I proceed to make a pig of myself, grabbing a knife and fork and digging in. The Templar doesn't seem to know what to say or do… he is staring at me like I'm crazy. So is everyone else in the room. Finally, my face full of chocolate, I think maybe I have gone a bit too far even for a dream. I hand what is left of the cake to the Templar beside me, telling him it is the best cake ever. I want to get away from the Templars… to get away from that strange energy they have been radiating. I notice I am feeling a bit ill. Is it the energy, or too much cake? I head for the door and go outside. The energy hitting me seems to be getting stronger. The Templar is behind me telling me to return what I stole. I tell him to go fuck himself before I wake.

03/12/13

I Got a Job
I am in a computer data center. I have a job here. It is time to run the nightly backups. There is one of the backups that I don't know how to run yet. One of my coworkers leads me back to the data center to the appropriate server. There is a tape drive there and my coworker has the appropriate tape for the backup. She shows me where a series of the tapes needs to be inserted. She inserts the first sequence and I insert the second sequence. I look around the place to see where the rest of the servers are. I ask my coworker about them. She says we keep servers secure for many other companies. I see servers with names on them I don't recognize. I see a server marked Abstergo. I do a double take at that. I ask my coworker if that is for real. She says they all are real. I decide that is too weird. I do a reality check by pinching my nose and I can still breathe. This is a dream. I find this annoying since I'd thought I had a job finally. I think about what I want to do. I think about the task if the month to break stuff. I could trash the Abstergo server. I pull the tower of CPUs over with a crash. My coworker asks what I am doing. I tell her I'm giving Abstergo a headache... damn Templars... She asks if I'm crazy and picks up one of the fallen CPUs. She seems relieved that it is still plugged in and working. I pick up one of the other CPUs and slam it to the ground. My coworker says she is going home. When pissed off Abstergo people arrive she will be somewhere else. Oh, and I am sooooo fired. And I'll have a bunch of pissed off Abstergo people after me... what am I working for, the Assassins? Pissed off Templars after me... I tell her that's nothing new. Great, she says... a fucking Assassin in the data center. She says smash away, she quits. I smash a second Abstergo server before I wake.

The Horn of Eld
I am with a small group of people, we are all gathered together and talking. I recognize some of the people. I recognize MoSh, Roland, Eddie, Susanna, Jake, and Oy… but there are other people I don't recognize. Everyone is talking. After listening to the talk for a bit I realize the other people are from the calla in Wolves of the Calla from the Dark Tower series. They are talking about the so-called wolves that come to take their children, then they tell how the children are sent back ruint. These ruint children are severely mentally disabled, and they only live until they are about 30 years old when they die a rather nasty death. It is clear that some of the calla people would like us to help them, though one of them seems reluctant to accept help. He seems to think that resisting the wolves will just result in more people being killed. He insists they just take one of each set of twins, so they should be thankful for the children who are left whole. There is more talk going on, but my mind ends up wandering, I have a tendency to lose interest in long periods of talk. I look around at the people and I do notice that Roland has the Horn of Eld hanging from his belt. Apparently when I told him to hang onto it in a previous dream he did so. I have a feeling the Horn of Eld will play a key role in setting right whatever is wrong with the Dark Tower. The talk goes on for a while longer, and I find myself wanting to get up and leave, but I just stay there until I wake.

The Battle of Jericho Hill
I am in a place of chaos. I look around to gather up what is going on. There is a fight going on. It is night time, it is rather hard to see much of what is going on. I see a horse riding up from one direction. My night vision is good, and I am able to identify the rider. It is Alain from the Dark Tower. In the other direction I see Cuthbert and Roland. Cuthbert and Roland are aiming their guns at Alain, apparently they haven't recognized him! As a reaction I form my Witchblade armor and jump between Roland and Cuthbert and Alain, getting hit by the bullets and knocked down. Cuthbert is doing a double take at me doing that when Alain says there has been a betrayal, they have to get back, there's going to be an attack. Roland recognizes Alain's voice and lowers his gun. I am going to get up, the bullets haven't really hurt me, but things seem to fade in and out for a bit… and then the scene shifts.

I am now on the top of a hill with some other people, I recognize three of them as Roland, Cuthbert, and Alain. There are some other people I don't recognize, I notice there is at least one other woman there. I notice MoSh is there with us, I wonder if I actually went to get him and then forgot… We are all on a cliff overlooking the ocean. Down the steep hill there are statues in the valley and an approaching army. Definitely an army. I wonder how many of them there are. It looks to be thousands… and I can tell that our group numbers not more than 15. Impossible odds? Cuthbert doesn't seem to think so, or he is doing a pretty good job of faking it is more likely. He looks like he has been injured quite seriously, but as Roland has always said, he will die laughing… he announces the situation, we have our backs to a cliff, a couple thousand attackers, not many of us left, then says we will show them no mercy, refuse their surrender even if all of them throw down their weapons. Roland wants the Horn of Eld, Cuthbert says he blows it better and he does blow it. Roland calls to gather the gunslingers, Cuthbert and Alain say they believe they are the last… then everyone charges to attack. I remember it is important that Roland keep the Horn of Eld this time, he will need it at the Dark Tower… but what about fighting this army? I wonder where MoSh has gone, but then I see him down among the enemy soldiers. He has transformed into a giant cobra and is spraying green fire at the enemies which must be poison, because even those not quite touched by the flames fall.

I am thinking I can help even the odds here… and I use Divide by Disturbed to create many more of me. 2, 4, 8, 32, 64, 128, 256… I'm one impressive motherfucker, wouldn't you say? We are still way outnumbered. The chaos of the fight helps cover the fact there are so many of me in the fight. As often happens, the fight becomes a blur when I am in so many places at once. Some of me are shooting enemies with guns, others have crossbows, a couple of me throw around a few bolts of lightning. But when the fight seems to be over all I see standing are me and MoSh… where are Roland and the others? Where is the Horn of Eld? I remember the horn lying on the ground somewhere… did Cuthbert still die? I know we were still outnumbered, but I'd hoped that Cuthbert and/or Alain might survive. I search the area and I find Cuthbert, he is dead. The horn is lying in the dust beside him.

I grab the horn and look around for Roland. Roland has been injured, but I remember that he will be ok, so I just take the horn over to him. He is semi-conscious when I give him the horn. He wants to know if Alain is ok, he seems to know Cuthbert is gone. I tell him it is very important to hang on to the Horn of Eld, there's no time to explain it now, but it will be very important in the future. He takes the horn and says Cuthbert's name, holding the horn tightly. I tell Roland I'm sorry, I tried to save them… he doesn't seem to be listening. I hope he has heard me well enough and that the horn will manifest somehow in the present version of Dark Tower. Roland is still holding the horn when I wake up.

03/04/13

On the Road: Campfire
I am sitting on the side of a road with some other people. I recognize them all. I see MoSh, Roland, Jake, Eddie, Susanna, and Oy all gathered around a campfire. Everyone is watching Roland very closely. Roland is finishing his story about what happened in Hambre with Susan Delgado. He says he didn't meet her where he had said they would meet. He said he knew if he was to meet her he wouldn't have the strength to do what needed to be done. He said he would have liked nothing more than to make a life with Susan, but the tower… He talks for a bit more about why he has to find the tower and fix what is wrong within it. He finally stops and looks around. He looks like something just occurred to him. He says there were parts of the story he himself hadn't remembered until he told it… like the fact MoSh and I were both there. But while he has aged, we were both the same then as we are now. We were part of his ka-tet back then and we are again… ka is a wheel… but how is it that we aren't changed? I tell him MoSh and I travel through both time and space to arrive where and when we need to be, those events in Majis are like yesterday to MoSh and me… I literally rescued Susan yesterday. So what happened to Susan anyway? Roland said he saw in the glass when she was almost burned alive… had been sure she would be… he had already accepted that they would not be together, but wasn't ready to accept that. He says part of him would swear he saw here actually burn…

On the Road: The Emerald City
I am on the road traveling with MoSh, Roland, Jake, Eddie, Susanna, and Oy. There is a palace ahead spanning across the road. The palace is a green crystalline color. There are shoes in the street. It looks like someone left out a pair of bright red shoes for each person in the group. We all pick up the pair of shoes that is intended for us, mine looks like the ruby slippers Dorothy wore in the Wizard of Oz.

We continue to the entrance to what I can only think of as the Emerald City. There is a large gate in the front of the palace, it looks more like a palace than a city. The road leads through the gate and I can see the road extending into the palace. After figuring things out for a short while it is determined that we all have to tape the red shoes together at the same time, three times, to open the door. So everyone puts on the shoes and taps them together. There is a reverberating sound that makes everything vibrate, but nothing happens. Oops… everyone forgot about Oy. The billy-bumbler hadn't clicked his shoes together. So we do the test again, this time with Jake and Roland taking care of clicking Oy's shoes together… and the sound is even louder. The entire structure of the emerald palace seems to vibrate.

The gate doesn't open… it shatters into a billion tiny shards. Fortunately none of them seem to be sharp enough to cut anyone. We go into the palace, following a long hallway to a door at the end. The whole thing looks like the Wizard of Oz. The door at the end has a sign that states the bell is out of order… please knock. The door is unlocked, however, so we go through. There is a loud voice coming from everywhere, asking how dare we enter the presence of the great and powerful Oz. Eddie says not to worry… it's just a bumhug… I think he means a humbug. I think the voice considers itself to sound threatening and scary, but it really just sounds a bit ridiculous to me. Oy is also unaffected by this, he is over near a curtain pulling at it. He pulls it aside to reveal a man there. The man doesn't look good, it looks like a piece of his skull is missing… ouch! He is throwing threats around until Eddie puts bullets in his head. There is another man there, however. He is standing in the middle of the main room where there had been a blazing fire special effect, he is holding the wizard's glass orb. He says he will give us one final chance to cry off and forget about the tower. Everyone says no, they will not do that, including MoSh and me… I tell him, "You wish… not gonna happen." Roland tries to shoot him with his gun, but it doesn't fire. The man laughs at that and says Roland will get only misfires with him. Maybe the bullets are all bad. Roland responds by drawing a gun from Eddie, Susan, and Jake's home world… He draws it lightning fast and fires at the man, who disappears in an explosion of smoke. He does not get away unscathed, however, I hear a cry of surprise and pain before he manages to dematerialize. Now we are alone in the huge room, Roland says he thinks he will have to tell the rest of his tale before we can continue… no… he will have to show us. He points to where the man dropped the wizard's glass as he disappeared. We go over to the orb and Roland indicates we should look into the orb. I don't see anything in it, I wonder why that is. Roland and the others seem to see something in there… and I notice Roland has a shocked look on his face. He says that's not how it happened… but now he remembers differently… which one is true? The first thing I think to say is nothing is true… and everything is permitted, even changing events that have already happened… I look back into the orb and this time I can see an image. Roland is walking down a hallway and into a room. There are shoes underneath the curtains but he doesn't see them. He is looking for his mother. The others are all gathered around as well, all except for Roland. The younger version of Roland turns around when someone is behind him. At first it looks like the witch Rhea, come back for revenge, holding out a dead snake towards Roland. She looks like a corpse. But then that image looks transparent, and it is really Roland's mother.

She is holding out a belt that looks handmade. Roland is drawing his guns, apparently he still sees Rhea. Everyone is yelling at Roland not to do it, it is a trick. I say nothing out loud, but I focus on sending a telepathic signal through time and space… I send a message to MoSh to do the same… maybe it can get through, even just enough to make him hesitate… a second is all it would take… and he does hesitate. Due to my telepathic message? He hesitates just long enough to see the illusion waver… and then he sees her for who she really is. I hear Rhea's voice of rage, yelling curses, saying she will still have her revenge… I am thinking I should have killed the witch in Hambre. Roland's mother interprets Roland having his guns out to mean he knows she had planned on betraying his father. She quickly tries to explain that she didn't know what she was doing, Marten had gotten into her head somehow... he'd been using her the whole time. Roland has no interest in just shooting his mother, he looks around to see if the witch is still present in the room. He looks straight at me for what seems like a long time before turning back to his mother, who says she wants a chance to make up for what she has done. The images around us fade to pink. I feel a bit disoriented and then find I am sitting on the road, it looks like we are far past the Emerald Palace. The others are all there, too, they also look disoriented. From the look of our shoes we have been walking the whole time. I notice the road isn't what it used to be… not really a road at all. And the path of the beam can be easily seen in the clouds in the sky. We are back on track. Roland is looking at me strangely. He says he doesn't know how it can be. He still remembers shooting his mother, but it is like it was a dream… and what we just saw is much clearer. It is here that I wake up.

03/02/13

Kidnapping
I am standing near a cabin of some kind, it looks like a rather old cabin, and I see there are other people around. I recognize the people from the Dark Tower books I have been reading. I see two of the big coffin hunters there, I identify them as Eldred Jonas and Clay Reynolds.

The third one I am not immediately able to place. Susan Delgado is also there, her hands are tied in front of her, she is talking to the others. I can't hear what they are saying, but she motions to Jonas to come a bit closer. When he gets close enough she spits right in his face. He smacks her for that, knocking her to the ground. I come out of the brush and tell him he shouldn't have done that. He looks at me strangely, then says I don't want to get mixed up in this. I have one chance to just walk away, which is more than I deserve. I tell him he had better be the one walking away if he wants to live to see tomorrow. Last time we met it wasn't his time yet, but now I figure it's close enough to his time to die. He laughs at me, pointing out that I am unarmed and he and his men have guns. He points his gun at me, but that doesn't worry me. I walk directly towards him. He fires his gun at me, but my Witchblade armor blocks the bullet, so I just keep walking towards him. He has a baffled look on his face as he fires twice more, neither of those shots having any more effect than the first one. I am standing right in front of a stunned Jonas who doesn't seem to know what to say or do. I say he has one more chance to cry off and leave Susan alone. There is now a gun to the back of my head, Clay Reynolds is immediately behind me.

Jonas says I have made the last mistake I'll ever make… which is the last thing Jonas ever says before he finds himself with a hidden blade buried in him. Clay clearly hasn't seen what happened, though he does notice the shocked look of pain on Jonas' face. He asks Jonas what is wrong, but Jonas is unable to answer. While he is paying more attention to Jonas than to shooting me I spin around and stab Clay before he can shoot at me. The third guy is pretty freaked out by now and he takes off, no doubt to tell the others what just happened. I go over and cut Susan free. She seems worried about where Sheemie might be now. I look around for a bit and I see Sheemie come running out of the brush, he hugs Susan and says he is so glad she is ok, he got so scared when he saw the bad coffin hunters but he didn't know what to do. He then gives me a big hug and says he will thank his friend whose name he doesn't even know. I tell him my name is Raven. Susan says this place obviously isn't safe… they need to find another place to hide. I am trying to think if I can remember a good spot when I wake up.

Ambush
I am hidden in tall grasses, and I see I am not alone there. There are four men there with me, though three of them look like they're still boys. I recognize all of them. The three boys are from the Dark Tower series. Roland, Cuthbert, and Alain.

The fourth isn't from the Dark Tower series at all, I recognize MoSh. I look around and it seems we are following some people. I look and see a man I don't recognize come running from somewhere behind. He is out of breath and finally manages to say that Jonas and Reynolds are both dead, the crazy bitch killed them. When he mentions the crazy bitch everyone looks over at a black wagon with what looks like a corpse driving it. I realize that must be Rhea, the local witch / bitch / crazy old woman. As if realizing what crazy person everyone thought he meant, the man says no, not her, some crazy bitch with a knife for an arm. Now people just stare at him as if he was the crazy one. There is a brief period of chaos, then finally Roy Depape takes charge of things and says they need to keep going.

If Jonas and Reynolds are really dead, there's nothing to wait for. And even if they're not, they dare not be late or all of them will wish they were the ones who were dead. So the group of people moves on. I can't tell exactly how many of them there are, the group is traveling in a long drawn out line. There are only three horses there. I figure the first thing to do is jack one of the horses being used by the parade of assholes passing by. But not all of them are on horses, so maybe a horse isn't even needed. Cuthbert nails a couple of horse riders from behind with his slingshot, the two fall off of their horses without being noticed. Roland says to take out as many as possible silently before alerting the whole group. He says he thinks there are about 50… now 48… but maybe we can get that number down before the real fight even begins. Cuthbert isn't waiting to be told, he has nailed two more of them with his slingshot. 46. Take out some of them silently… time to play a little Assassin's Creed with these guys. I make my way around to the other side of the path and then I make just enough noise to get the curiosity of one of them. He comes over to investigate and gets rewarded with a hidden blade to the neck. I haven't had a chance to do anything else before I hear a gunshot. Now the fighting is really getting started. There is a lot of shooting going on. Someone on a horse is taking aim at one of the boys I was with so I grab him, pull him off his horse, and stab him before he can fire. There's a gunshot and someone falls over right behind me, I look in time to see the gun was aimed at me. Apparently someone has my back as well. I see MoSh pull someone off a horse and kick them hard in the head before climbing up on the horse. He rides off in the other direction after a couple of the enemies. I climb onto the horse right beside me. For some reason I find I have a crossbow instead of a gun… but I figure it will do the trick. I fire several quick shots and take out two more enemies, though I miss the third as he turns to fire at someone off to the right. I see Roland riding after Depape, just as he rode after Jonas in the book. Depape has the bag with the wizard's glass in it, I wonder where Rhea has gone after having it taken from her. Crawled into a hole, no doubt. Roland shoots Depape through the hand to make him drop the bag, and catches it on the way down before firing two rounds directly into Depape's face. There are a few shots fired after that, but it seems most of the enemies have lost their desire to fight and they are retreating. Roland is holding the bag with the wizard glass in it, gazing into the bag with a strange look on his face as the others try to get his attention. I think I could try to snap him out of it but before I can do anything I wake up.

02/26/13

Bullies
I am in what looks like a western town, I am walking down a dusty road. I have no idea where I am or how I got to be here, but this doesn't seem odd to me. I just keep walking down the road until I hear a commotion around a corner. I follow the sound of the commotion and I find three men picking on one boy who looks like he is mentally disabled. I recognize the people from the Dark Tower series. The three men are Eldred Jonas, Clay Reynolds, and Roy Depape. The boy is Stanley Ruiz, aka Sheemie. Roy Depape and the others are all making fun of Sheemie, I think Roy might be considering shooting him.

Branch A: I am thinking I should do something about the situation when I see there is another man there, and I recognize him as MoSh. MoSh says he doesn't like to see someone picking on someone who has limited mental capacity… then walks up to Sheemie and says he should go ahead and leave these three unfortunate men alone. Sheemie looks a bit confused but glad to leave, and he hurries off. Eldred Jonas picks up on the insult right away and gets pissed. His face turns red. He tells MoSh he had better take that back. MoSh says he would get into a battle of wits with Jonas, but he makes a point not to get into a fight with someone who is unarmed. Jonas has his gun out instantly and fires a bullet right at MoSh's feet, and he seems surprised when MoSh doesn't even flinch. MoSh takes the gunslinger challenge and pulls out a gun even faster than Jonas, shooting the gun right out of Eldred's hand. All three of them are stunned now. They are still staring at MoSh when the sheriff shows up with Sheemie. It looks like Sheemie thought there might be trouble and brought a cop. They arrive just in time to see Eldred Jonas picking his gun up off the ground, I notice he has a gun of his own out but seems uncertain. MoSh has concealed his own gun. The sheriff wants to know what is going on, and Eldred is the first person to respond. He says he was showing off his piece to their new friend (MoSh), nothing here that requires the law to intervene. The sheriff seems glad at the idea that nothing is really going on here. He tells Sheemie he knew there wasn't really anything serious going on. I notice Eldred Jonas wants to keep his ruined gun from being seen, he holsters it as if it was still useful. Apparently he doesn't want to admit he was outdrawn so easily.

Branch B: I am thinking I should do something about the situation. I tell the three of them they had best be leaving Sheemie alone. Eldred Jonas says it's none of my business and I'd best be moving along. Roy Depape seems to have a bit of a different opinion… he eyes me over a time or two and says maybe there is something I could do to distract him if I want the retard to live for one more day… the way he is eyeing me I know what he is thinking and the thought makes me a bit nauseous. But I don't want him to just shoot Sheemie before I can get to him so I pretend to be considering his proposition… until I get close enough. From the look on his face I think he is expecting to get lucky… instead he gets my knee in his groin, as hard as I can do it. Eldred Jonas has his gun in his hand almost instantly, but he isn't fast enough before I kick the gun right out of his hand using a martial arts move. I follow that with a kick to the gut, knocking the asshole flat on his ass. I tell Sheemie he might want to take this opportunity to leave… which he does. Clay Reynolds seems too stunned to do anything but stare, I think he is shocked at the idea of a woman fighting back like that. That doesn't keep me from knocking him on his ass. With the three of them all nursing injuries I tell them to leave Sheemie alone, or next time I might not be in such a good mood. I manage to make it around the corner before I wake up.

02/23/13

Note: Someone named Lara has been visiting us for the past few days with the goal of helping break some psychological blocks I am having problems with. After she was here it was discovered she had been working for some Templars in her home world, but she has agreed to help with the blocks in exchange for a cure for her son, Anthony, who has an inoperable cancer. Of course it's not inoperable for someone like Q or Washu… The area she works in looks for time fluctuations which can be used to see through time, know the outcome of certain operations before doing them… know what Assassins are going to do before the Assassins even know… She said they found a timeline where an Altaïr was about to die in the natural course of the timeline. They managed to grab him, Lara said the point was to use energy healing so Altaïr could learn how to feel love… but the truth no doubt has more to do with mind control. Lara truly believes people like Altaïr (Assassins) don't have the capacity to care about anyone due to how they grew up so they need to have their hearts healed… the final point being my goal, to go into the facility where they are holding Altaïr and get him out of there… In order to make sure as few people as possible get hurt Lara says she can get me in by telling them I am a soul healer (not a lie) and I can have the effect they are looking for on Altaïr.

Moon Assassin
I am on a beach taking a walk on a very peaceful day. I remember my goal, and first I have to go meet up with Lara so she can sneak Sailor Moon into the Templar facility. Before I can even open a portal, however, Q appears with a woman I don't recognize, who turns out to be Lara. I have never actually met Lara face to face… Q says he will take us to the correct world, then snaps his fingers to transport us. When we appear, we are in a house. In a bedroom. Lara leaves the room and heads downstairs. An older woman eyes Q and me suspiciously as we follow Lara. Q says he will take care of Anthony's treatment, it is almost done, then it is not only guaranteed that Anthony's current cancer will be gone, but he will be immune to any cancer in the future. I notice that Q looks like a doctor. The older woman looks similar to an older version of Lara, and I realize she is primarily looking at me. She says she doesn't want any of "them" around Anthony… then asks what I am doing here. She says she knows the doctor has to see Anthony, and has even accepted the demons Lara has to deal with in order to get Anthony cured, but no one else is to have access to Anthony. Lara starts to tell the woman my name… then hesitates… I say my name is Serena… Serena Usagi, using the name off of Sailor Moon… and I am a healer, so who is this "them" she thinks I am? She scoffs and says I already know… and if I am a healer she is the queen of England… then tells Lara to get me out of her house. I am about to question why the woman doubts my being a healer, Lara points at a mirror… I am dressed like an Assassin from Assassin's Creed… oops… that's not how Serena dresses… so I use the crescent moon wand to transform into Sailor Moon.

The older woman, who I determine is Lara's mother and Anthony's grandmother, does a double take. Lara hurries me from the room and outside. She eyes my Sailor Moon form for a bit. She says she has no idea who Sailor Moon is, but that means the others probably don't, either. I ride in a normal car with Lara for a while into the mountains, then up to a gate that is mostly hidden. It reminds me of the entrance to some secret military installation that's not supposed to exist. The guarded entrance leads to a tunnel that leads deep within the mountain.

Lara pulls up beside a guard gate and says she has to speak to the captain… whoever that might be. The guard asks who I am. She just says the captain will want to talk to me, she was looking through a time flux and might have found the answer. He wants to know what answer she has found. She says she might have the cure, and the captain will know what that means. He asks again who I am. She gives him the name Serena Usagi, known in my home world as Sailor Moon, the moon healer. He talks on the communicator inside the guard station for a bit and then finally comes back. He opens the gate and tells Lara to follow the vehicle in front of us, and do not leave the path at all, he says we have only limited access here. With a relieved sigh she agrees and drives on after what looks like a jeep of some kind. Lara drives through what seems like a maze of passages. There are numerous large doors along the passages. Now and then one of them will open and the jeep will lead us through it, then it will close behind us. After getting completely disoriented we finally come to a stop. There are several guards around us when they lead us into an office room. There is a man there, and he looks me over closely. He asks who I am. I tell him I am Serena Usagi, Sailor Moon, a soul healer. Lara says she has seen me heal the hearts of those who have never learned to love. He turns on a monitor. He indicates I should look at it. There is a white room with only a bed and bathroom facilities. There is a man in the room. It looks like Altaïr, though he isn't dressed as an Assassin, he is just in plain white clothes. He is sitting on the bed doing nothing. The captain tells me to do what I have to do. I ask if he really thinks I can heal someone over a television link. I have to be in there with him. He looks at me suspiciously. He says if I am in there he can't guarantee my safety. I tell him I have healed people as powerful as Vegeta when he is attacking me… He says he has no idea who Vegeta is. I tell him I have to be in there with Alt… the person he wants me to heal. Did I just screw up? Maybe not… he says I will be taken to the holding cell, but I will be on my own, even if the prisoner attacks me. I say that's ok. I am led through some halls and to an airlock. What do they think Altaïr is, an alien? Maybe just to make sure he doesn't get out? I remember Lara saying he got out once and killed a bunch of Templars, almost getting out of the facility before getting trapped again. I guess they don't want a repeat occurrence. I go into the middle area of the airlock, the door behind me closes, the one in front of me opens. I go into the small room. Altaïr is looking at me now… hatefully glaring at me, though I notice a slightly puzzled look when he gets a better look at my Sailor Moon form. The door immediately closes and locks behind me. No matter. I'll open a portal. I focus on opening a portal. Nothing happens. A dampening field? A voice from nowhere asks if I really thought they would let a stranger walk right into a secure facility and then walk out with their most valuable prisoner. I decide to stay with the Sailor Moon theme. Open the door or in the name of the moon they'll be punished. The voice says he knows perfectly well I am not Sailor Moon, she is a dumb cartoon, I am an Assassin, so now they have two. I do a Cosmic Moon Power blast on the airlock door, it looks like a Final Flash from Vegeta…

and it blasts the door off of its hinges, practically melting through it. Altaïr is doing a serious double take… another Cosmic Moon Power blast takes out the outer door. Alarms start going off everywhere. I tell Altaïr it's time to blow this pop stand… up… I wonder how far I have to go to pass the dampening field. There are guards outside the second melted door, it looks like they're not sure what to do. Some of them shoot at Altaïr and me, others turn and run. The ones who are firing change their minds after "Cosmic… Moon…" before the blast goes off. They run down the hall and around the corner. I try a portal… nothing. Altaïr and I head farther down the hall. Someone tries to ambush us from around a corner. I hear the popping noise when Altaïr breaks his neck. I try a portal. It opens! I tell Altaïr that is our exit, I figure the dampening field was probably just around the holding cell. I lead Altaïr through the portal and into the control room on the moon before I wake.
 
Secret Escape
Note: This is a case where I think I was having two variant dreams at the same time. In one of them I went to meet with Lara so she could sneak me into the compound where Templars are keeping Altaïr, but in the other one I used Avalon to get in on my own. The previous one is journaled above, this is the second version.

I am on the beach as in the first dream. But this time Q doesn't show up. I wander down the beach for a while longer before deciding I need to go find the Altaïr who is being held by a bunch of Templars. I focus on opening a portal to find him. I focus on finding the one that Lara has told me about. After a brief hesitation, during which I wonder if it is going to work, a portal finally opens. I go through the portal into a long hallway that is large enough to handle vehicles.

It looks like some kind of underground military facility. I wonder if this is where Altaïr is being held. I wonder how I can find him. I need to get access to their computers. I can locate him through that. I go through a door and into an office. The people in the room seem to know who I am, and a man asks why I'm not dressed. He throws some lab clothes at me, so I put them on. He then hands me a syringe. He says that's the drug, the strongest version yet. He says Altaïr will either be very receptive to the programming, he will be dead, or go stark raving mad. I look at the syringe... there's no way I'm giving that shit to Altaïr… The man, apparently sensing I am hesitant, says this is my project… he's not going in there. I look and see I have a keycard. I use it to open the door the man is looking at. It leads to what looks like an airlock, and then into a white room. I see Altaïr is in the room, he is chained to the far wall. I am being watched. So I try to act like they expect. I go over to Altaïr… who looks like he is unconscious. A voice comes from the speakers, telling me to administer the drug. I have to get Altaïr loose… then open a portal. The needle on the syringe… I can pick the lock with that! So I reach for one of the chains and I realize it isn't really attached to anything. It looks like the locks have already been picked? The next thing I know the syringe has been taken from me and is stuck in my neck, Altaïr is loose, he says we are leaving here now unless I want a dose of my own medicine… An alarm is going off, I tell Altaïr to cut it out, we're on the same fucking side. He takes my key card and injects the drug into me, pushing me aside and going for the door. Great… I'm wasted on drugs… I toss the syringe aside and try to clear my head. Everything sounds echoed and far away. I hear a commotion outside, someone has come into the room with me and is saying something about an antidote. I focus my energy on clearing out the drug and my head clears. I push the two men away from me and head in the direction I think Altaïr went. People behind me are asking me what I'm doing… I need a doctor if I hope to survive that drug… I ignore them. In the next room there are two dead people. One of them has his head at a really awkward angle, the other has an unidentified object sticking out of his neck… ok… on the right path. I follow the commotion down the hall.

A couple guards shoot at me before realizing who I am. I send a wall of telekinetic energy down the corridor that stops the bullets and pushes the guards back against the wall. I see Altaïr around a corner, he is looking right at me now. I'm not sure how to convince him I am actually there to get him out… Altaïr disappears down the hallway. I follow him. When I come around the corner someone shoots at me. Altaïr is shooting at me? Apparently he grabbed one of the guards' guns. I see someone behind Altaïr, aiming at him. I use telekinetic energy to knock that person back against the wall. Altaïr disappears down a side passage. Shit… this is ridiculous. Maybe my disguise is too good… so I switch to my usual Assassin robes before following Altaïr again. I hear more gunshots. I am on the right path when I find a dead guard. Altaïr aims a gun at me, but then stops when he sees I now look like an Assassin. He points the gun at someone behind me and fires… but gets only a click, he's out of ammo. I look behind me and see a couple guards there aiming guns. More guards on the other side of Altaïr. I get over closer to Altaïr and tell him it's time to get out of here before opening a portal. Someone is yelling to shoot them both, so I just shove Altaïr through the portal before following him through and waking up.

02/19/13

Blaine is a Pain
I am in the back yard of my house. It is nighttime. I am holding a burning match. There is a small pile of kindling in front of me, and on top of that pile of kindling is a toy that looks like Altaïr. For some reason I want to watch it burn. I pour a bit of alcohol on the toy to make sure it burns good, I'm not sure if the plastic will burn or melt. I toss the match into the pile and watch the fire blaze up, brighter than I had thought it would be. The toy melts and distorts as it burns, stretching the face into an expression that looks like pain. But no… it's a toy… toys don't feel pain. I don't want to watch it burn after all. I want to put the fire out and restore the toy to its previous condition. But it's too late for that. The face has now melted beyond recognition. The toy is a smoldering pile of plastic. I can't believe I just burned my toy Altaïr. Why did I do that? I pinch my nose to block the smell of burning plastic. I can still breathe. This is a dream! My concern with a toy Altaïr has faded, and now I focus on opening a portal to a Dark Tower dream. I want to pick up MoSh first. The portal seems to shift. I reach through and grab MoSh's hand without really looking at the surrounding area. I pull him through a second portal. On the other side of the portal we are in what looks like the interior of a very fancy train.

The walls have no windows, and I see we are not alone. Roland, Susanna, Eddie, Jake, and Oy are all in the train staring at us. The portal closes behind us. Blaine is the first to speak, giving a formal greeting to (MoSh's real name) of (MoSh's place of birth) and Raven Knight of (my place of birth). I say hello to Blaine. Blaine says they were just getting started on some riddles. He says our interruption is quite rude, but also interesting… so he would refrain from killing us, and we could join in the riddling. Susanna asks a riddle, an easy one. What has four wheels and flies? Blain pauses, then irritatedly says it's the town garbage wagon. He says dumb riddles like that won't keep us alive. MoSh blurts out a riddle… why don't zombies eat clowns? Blaine is annoyed again, but pauses before he says they taste funny… now tell a real one. A little voice says not to make Blaine angry… please… what can run but never walks, has a mouth but never talks, has a bed but never sleeps, has a face but never weeps. Blaine answers quickly this time… a river. Roland asks what has four legs in the morning, two at noon, three at night. Blaine answers a human. Eddie told the next riddle. No sooner spoken than broken. Blaine answers silence. He asks me for a riddle. I think for a bit… then tell a riddle from The Hobbit. It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, cannot be heard, cannot be smelt. It lies behind stars and under hills, and empty holes it fills. It comes first and follows after, ends life, kills laughter. Blaine answers immediately. Darkness. The riddles continue, Roland telling them all, Blaine answering instantly. Susanna asks me quietly if I can't open one of those doors to get us all off of Blaine. I know I can, but that would disrupt the story… so I tell her I can't always control where they go, so that would be a last resort. Blaine says skipping out on our agreement would be very rude. Eddie looks like he is zoned off into some other world. I am trying to think of some riddles, just to pass more time until we get closer to our destination. Then is the time for the riddles that will drive Blaine insane. But I wake up.
 
Riddles in the Train
I am inside Blaine the Mono as if no time has passed. It seems even Blaine hasn't noticed I disappeared, or at least hasn't said anything about it. Roland is still telling riddles. Eddie still seems zoned into another world. I sit down on one of the seats, not even sure why I am here. Blaine sounds amused, but doesn't seem close to being stumped. I figure since he's a computer, if he hears a riddle, either the answer will be in his memory or it won't… so he'll either answer instantly or not at all. So far he is answering instantly. Blaine comes to a point where he charges his batteries near some large waterfalls. The outside of the train has become transparent to show a massive waterfall pouring past two large dog statues.

Then there is sound… the sound of the waterfall, which is so loud I am sure it will wake me up. Soon the sound passes, however, without waking me up. I look over to be sure MoSh is still there. Blaine charges his battery through blinding lightning from the eyes of the dog statues. After a brief pause the train becomes opaque again and then we start moving. And the riddling continues. Roland says he is running out of riddles. Everyone seems surprised and a bit dismayed at that. Roland asks if Jake will be ready with his riddles, Jake says yes. He asks MoSh and me if we have any riddles from our world. MoSh says he knows a few. Eddie looks zoned completely. Roland says to leave Eddie alone. More riddles from Roland. More instant answers from Blaine. Blaine says there is just 25 minutes left, Roland tells Jake to tell his riddles. Jake tells some riddles from the back of his book. Blaine answers instantly to all of them. Blaine asks if anyone else has a riddle, he even asks Oy. Eddie finally says he has a few, just to kill the time.

He asks what has four wheels and flies. Blaine is clearly annoyed, says this one has already been asked and was dumb the first time. He is calling Eddie a fool and an idiot when MoSh asks what you get when you breed a shitzu and a pitt bull. Blaine pauses, says the riddle is dumb… then finally says the answer is a bullshit. Eddie asks when a door is not a door. Blaine pauses, makes a clicking noise, and says when it is ajar then starts insulting Eddie again. MoSh asks a riddle. A big moron and a little moron are on a bridge, the big moron falls off, why doesn't the little moron fall off? Blaine gets pissed again, says the riddle isn't worthy of the contest and he will not answer. Roland says that means Blaine loses. Answer or Blaine loses. Blaine is whining now. Would you like a little cheese with your whine? After another pause and a louder click, finally Blaine says because the little moron was a little more on. He says he feels soiled. Eddie makes a hand gesture which he says is the world's smallest violin playing "My Heart Pumps Purple Piss For You." Next riddle. Why do cops wear belts? The lights are flickering, the walls look semi-transparent. With each riddle this effect seems to get worse. The smaller voice says to stop, it's killing Blaine… Eddie says we'll all stop if Blain stops the mono, to which he refuses. What does an evil chicken lay? Deviled eggs. The answer was very slow to come. Strange noises are coming from the walls. Why did the dead baby cross the road? Blaine is not answering, he says there is no time limit. Roland says he has to answer before we crash. Blaine starts spouting nonsense. Because it was stapled to the chicken. Things are exploding, and it feels like the train is no longer being propelled forward. Roland says everyone needs to gather in the back of the compartment, we are still going to crash. Everyone is gathering at the far end of the compartment. I notice I don't see MoSh… but I really don't have a chance to think much about it before I wake.