[Kei Hada]

As the shadows retracted from its retaliation for the moment, Kei looked to everyone. He wanted to trust that all of them were real. He really did. There was strength in numbers, and the fact that the majority of them were registered heroes meant their chance of survival was the highest it could possibly be. Yet Lone Wolf's response of never working with Vox before raised yet another red flag.

His brother would never lie about something like that.

Coughs from the downed hero made Kei turn to her, only to see Gleipnir and the stranger grow more hands out of their own bodies, much like how they sprouted from the ground earlier. Fear and disgust coursed through him as he took another step back, only for his arm to get grabbed by Ryota. His eyes grew wide. Why was he pulling him to the river? Why wasn't he putting his helmet back on?

Kei was already shaking his head as he pulled back. "Let me go! Did you see what that river did to them?!" He grit his teeth at Lone Wolf's words, digging his heels in the dirt. "Can't you see I'm trying?!". Don't get dragged in- like Lone Wolf was doing any better. Meanwhile Recall was down and out and Ryota had to be fake. It was only him and Yaoyao now. Everyone was distracted. Incompetent.

They could only save themselves.

For a moment Kei's voice had an edge to it as anger seeped in. "Since you like the river so much then YOU go in it!" Shadows stretched behind him to wrap around a boulder before swinging it on the other man in hopes of separating them. If Ryota flies off him, Kei would be engulfed in shadows again and carried further in the forest, not even waiting for the remaining heroes to compose themselves. They weren't safe here. Kei wasn't safe here.

He needed to be kept safe at all costs.

---

OOC: Kei watches in horror as more hands appear, trying to pull away from Ryota when he grabs him. The shadows take a nearby boulder and shove it in the supposed fake hero's face in hopes that he lets go. If he does, the shadows engulf Kei and he peaces out ✌️

New Quirk Info

Fanthes Iphigenia Pavlina lonewolf Meika Hijiri

[Fanthes]

✧ JUST A DREAM AWAY ✧

Ryota's expression soured after what Lone Wolf said, as if the doppelgänger was disappointed that it had been found out so easily. Pesky humans with their pesky memories. ''Twink-looking?'' He mumbled, growing angrier as the facade began to fade and Ryota looked less and less like Kei's brother. ''Kei, we can't trust any of themn.'' He insisted as his eyes started glowing red and part of his face began to melt.

Sean let out a scream as Lone Wolf's shot hit him in the shoulder. He nearly fell over but managed to take cover behind a nearby tree. ''I remember! You always talked too much.'' He panted as parts of his face began to melt too. Looking over at his fellow doppelgängers he looked just in time to see the others fail to capture their targets. ''I-Iphi, you've killed me... This is all your fault...'' Sadako turned to blackish goo and sunk into the ground like she had never existed.

All the while, the footsteps that had been closing in on them were getting much closer.

''Shut up, Kei! Do you really trust your eyes over your own brother?!'' Ryota roared as he insisted on dragging Kei into the river, only to be met with a boulder to the face. Successfully separated from Ryota, Kei was now free to make his escape. ''Kei no... Please...'' His voice turned sad, begging Kei to stay as his whole body melted into blackish goo and mixed with the river. ''I trusted you...''

Just as Kei disappeared back into the forest, another figure emerged on the opposite side of the river. The source of the footsteps that had been chasing them all along. The hooded figure came to a screeching halt, taking a moment to catch their breath as they did a headcount of the dreamers. ''No. No, no, no, no!'' They panicked, pacing back and forth. ''Why are you over there? Did someone tell you to run away from me?'' In a surprising twist of fate, the hooded figure was carrying an oversized golden key on their back. ''I need you to have this, you need to take this and get out of here!'' Hands sprouted out of the ground around the hooded figure and began dragging them down into the soil like they were caught in a pit of quicksand. ''W-Wait!! You have to go get your friend! Don't let her divide you, that's what she wants! She wants you to give in, but you can't let her!'' Just as suddenly as the key holder had appeared they vanished into the ground along with the golden key.

Sean, who had his hands pointed in the direction of the key holder had snuck out of his cover and directed the hands to swallow them. ''Unlike last time when I shot you.'' He turned to look at Lone Wolf with a half-melted grin. ''This time, you won't be able to escape.''

Meanwhile, as Kei moved ahead to the next area trees and forest slowly became a cornfield, which became an amusement park. Hands and arms were manning the ticket stands, the snack booths, and were even acting as customers as they queued up in an orderly fashion to go on one of the many rides. The arms acknowledged Kei's presence, but none of them seemed to react aggressively towards him. Off in the outskirts of the amusement park a castle sat all alone. Microphone feedback kicked in as speakers placed around the park came to life. The voice on the speakers was Kei's very own. ''This thing's just tellin' us to move. We gotta go! Please.'' He said, ''Yaoyao's with me somehow?'' Golden arrows littered the ground, flashing on set intervals, all pointing towards the castle as if Kei was the character in a video game being pointed in the right direction to progress the game.

The Forest of Many Arms

TL;DR:
Ryota and Sadako are both killed by Kei and Iphigenia respectively. Sean is wounded from Lone Wolf's shot, but takes cover. The footsteps that had been chasing the dreamers was the golden key holder all along. They tell Iphi and Lone Wolf to follow Kei and to not get separated since that is what ''she'' wants. The key holder is then swallowed by the ground because of Sean, who taunts Lone Wolf. Kei running ahead arrives at an amusement park full of docile hands and arms. His own voice using things he has said within the dreamscape talks over the speakers, tempting him to come closer.

—---------------------------------------------------------------------------

OOC: Welcome to Dream World Part 2! First of all thank you for signing up!! I'm so excited to tell this story with you all! Remember you have to post at least ONCE per round, but you can skip one round if you have to. A second skip will result in no tokens being given. There are going to be 8 - 10 rounds total and I will announce when we have reached the halfway point, as well as when we're nearing the end in our designated Dream World discord channel.

Remember to include a TL;DR at the end of your post! <3

Additionally, if you want to plan a cool character moment ahead of time, like making a heroic sacrifice or setting up a team attack, but want to keep it a surprise to the other people in the thread until it happens, feel free to sneak into my DMs so we can plan out the details! This is not mandatory, but I want to make sure every character shines and looks their best during this thread!

The next round will begin on 15/04/2024 @ 5pm PST

Music Mood:

tag: Iphigenia Pavlina, Kei Hada, lonewolf, Meika Hijiri

[lonewolf]

Mark slipped another casing into his arm, aiming up and waiting for Sean to make a move. Once he did, though, the world began to slow down; Kei smashing Kyota and running off, Sadako getting obliterated under Iphi, the strange person with the key. This was coming down to a decision, and it was one based in a question he had been asking himself the night his father died:

Can I kill my own brother?

The shot was lined up, and so many possibilities were open. He could take him in, extradite him to the State, have him tried. Three heroes, nine police, and two civilians needed justice. Mark might have killed people, but it was always a last resort. It was always to save a life...except whenever Sean was concerned, apparently.

The hands took the stranger and dragged them into the earth, and that was it. He flexed those new muscles, and in an instant the body hit the ground.

There was work to be done. There would be no time to dwell on what just happened. For now, he had to get the only other hero nearby back on track, which was easier said than done. He approached Iphi, but remained several arms' length away. Those tendrils would ruin him, but it was the thought that counted. "Iphi! I need your help!" He turned to keep the body of Sean out of his peripheral; even if it was some dream projection, it was still unsettling. "Think! Our quirks are gone, but we're still us! And these...these things, they aren't the people we know and love! We have a responsibility to fulfill, and I can't do it without you! We gotta put one foot in front of the other, and make it through this." He couldn't tell if he was doing a good enough job or not. With Kei (and Yaoyao) bolting off into the distance again, and apparently a MacGuffin dropping into their laps, they had to regroup and keep going forward. Somehow.

Fanthes,Iphigenia Pavlina,lonewolf,Kei Hada,

tl;dr:
-A retrospective before action
-A reassessment
-And a reach to another hero before a new plan can be made

[Iphigenia Pavlina]

[nospaces]

[attr="class","skep-holder"]

[attr="class","skep-tiny"]

[attr="class","skep-shape"]

[attr="class","skep-shape-cont"]

[attr="class","lyr1"]Can you hear me

[attr="class","lyr2"]right now

[attr="class","lyr3"]?

[attr="class","lyr4"]I got your number

[attr="class","lyr5"]&

[attr="class","lyr6"]im calling

[attr="class","lyr2"]you out

[attr="class","skep-tag"]

[attr="class","skep-tago"]

lonewolf,Fanthes,Kei Hada

[attr="class","skep-img"]

[attr="class","skep-content"]

[attr="class","ray-img"]

Iphi was still doubled over, crippled by what had just occurred. She had known Sadako for so long and knew her so well that the idea of ever having to kill her had never crossed her mind. If she had her original quirk, there was virtually no chance she would have fallen into despair. There was no way she would have fallen for the tricks of this dream, but her emotions were running wild, and she felt lower than she ever had before without the ability to filter them.

[break][break]
She continued to mourn and struggle as Blackwhip continued to lash out into the air. It definitely made approaching her difficult as the quirk, in a way, had a mind of its own. Her ears were ringing, only brought into focus by Lonewolf calling out to her, snapping her back into focus. Blackwhip began to recede until no traces of the energy were left. As if waking from a bad dream, she would wipe off the tears from her face and rise to her feet, taking a moment before speaking, "Thank you, Mark."
[break][break]
Having now noticed Kei ran off, she only had moments before they would need to move, not aware that a key (ha) piece of the puzzle had just vanished in front of their eyes. "I got this. I know Sada is still alive out there." she would clench her fists and then unclench them, having much much more control over the energy than before. "I'm focused and ready to go." She would show off her newfound control over Blackwhip by pointing it in the direction Kei went. "We're gonna catch up to him fast." she would try to remember the best she could how Sadako had used and her right hand would extend to grab Lonewolf as gently as possible. Using her other hand she would use the hand trees to catapult them in the direction Kei ran off to, swinging from tree to tree as far as it would take her. Finally some progress!
[break][break]
tl;dr
-Iphi snaps out of her funk with Blackwhip getting under control[break]
- She thanks Mark and then uses Blackwhip to traverse the forest, swinging through the trees[break]
- We're so back[break]

[attr="class","boxo-notes"]ADD YOUR SHORT NOTES HERE

KAY

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[newclass=".skep-tago a"]color:#fff;font-size:8px;text-transform:uppercase;font-family:arial;[/newclass]
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[newclass=.ray-img img]shape-outside:circle(45%)!important;[/newclass]
[newclass=".boxo-notes"]font-family:arial narrow; background:#5d1a5e; color:#777; text-align:center; text-transform:uppercase; height:60px; line-height:60px; font-size:8px; color:#fff; border:solid 1px #ddd; [/newclass]

[Kei Hada]

Kei couldn't tell how far they ran. His eyes were shut tight, hands covering them for good measure. But even then he couldn't erase how betrayed his brother looked from his mind. Nevermind the red eyes and the melting and how his form seeped into the river - what if that was his brother all along? What if he was just possessed and hitting him was how he lost him for good? Not once had he thought to try to snap him out of whatever trance he was in.

His first reaction was to just kill him.

Kei curled into himself further. What use was he here, really? All he'd done so far was get carried around and yell at his teachers. That was the thing too- he just realized they left them behind. Going against orders to stick together. Seriously, at this point he'd be better off-

"Ow ow owowow!!!" the support major complained, clutching his head as he experienced what could be the strangest noogie he's gotten. Shadows messed with his hair as he swatted at them with a hand of his own. "I'm sorry- I got it, just stop!" And in an instant, they did so and receded, not enough to place him on the ground but enough for him to feel the cool air on his face. Slowly he opened his eyes and frowned.

Just where did they end up now?

It was an amusement park not unlike the one they were just in, but instead of normal people, all the employees and guests were replaced with appendages. He grimaced when the speakers sounded out things he'd said before. "I can't believe I'm sayin' this, but I miss the haunted house." The scares in that attraction were all in good fun at least. Especially when Yaoyao would scare the staff back. But this? This was all real.

Kei waved back awkwardly when a few arms acknowledged their presence. In doing so however, the state of his hand was brought to his attention. He brought both close to his face.

They were turning black. That wasn't good.

Sucking air between his teeth, he clasped his hands together. "Can you put me down?" He remained suspended. "I know, I know- but I don't wanna tire you out when we're okay right now." They weren't, technically, but at least they weren't in immediate danger. Still, she didn't budge. "I'll keep walkin'. We don't gotta wait for them."

Kei could see the ground grow closer as he was lowered down, his feet eventually planted on the dirt. "Thank you." Even if waiting for the heroes to catch up seemed like a good idea, he was worried that the thing they were warned about was still chasing them. And the arrows pointing to the castle practically screamed trap but where else were they meant to go?

He took a deep breath. "Here goes." With that, Kei slowly followed the arrows to the structure, making sure to keep his distance from all the "patrons".

---

OOC: Kei regrets the actions he's taken even though they've kept him safe so far. Yaoyao promptly reprimands him for having such thoughts. They reach the park and Kei walks towards the castle on his own feet, having asked Yaoyao to rest for now.

New Quirk Info

Fanthes Iphigenia Pavlina lonewolf Meika Hijiri

[Fanthes]

✧ JUST A DREAM AWAY ✧

''How boring.'' Sean frowned at Lone Wolf, his body melting into a puddle on the ground and seeping through the soil. ''I knew you didn't have it in you. You always were a coward.'' Whatever entity was messing with them had already had its fun at the river. After all, one of the dreamers was rapidly approaching and it would be rude not to greet him. No, greet them.

Back at the amusement park, Kei was allowed to have his inner conflict. No limb around him seemed to intervene or mind at all. As he approached the castle it started to shrink dramatically, and lose a lot of its depth and perspective. Sure enough, the castle was nothing but a large and elaborate cardboard cutout. In the cornfield in front of it, propped up on a simple wooden pole sat one lone scarecrow wearing a crown.

''Welcome.'' Its head slouched to look down at Kei as it talked with an unfamiliar woman's voice. Notably, the woman sounded more scared than the scarecrow appeared. ''The Queen! The Queen!'' It shouted in a man's voice, referring to itself. Cocking its head it leaned forward a little bit. ''Kei!'' It said in Ryota's voice. ''Yaoyao.'' It said in Kei's voice. ''Kei. Yaoyao, Kei, Yaoyao!'' It repeated, alternating between the voices it was borrowing, almost as if it had recorded and catalogued everything that was said in the Forest of Arms. ''Don't stand there, move! Full permission to use quirks, but we can't just stay here!'' It demanded in Lone Wolf's voice.

Thanks to Lone Wolf helping Iphi gain control of her quirk and Iphi wielding said control with a striking finesse, the two managed to catch up to Kei relatively quickly. ''We gotta go get Kei.'' The Queen said using Iphi's voice. ''Get Kei, get Kei.'' Plant-like tendrils began to move under them. ''Recall.'' It said in Lone Wolf's voice. ''Thank you, Mark.'' It said in Iphi's voice.

''Can you put me down?'' It asked in Kei's voice.

''Can you put me down?''

''Can you put me down?''

''Can you put me down?''

''Um, who's Alice?''

''Can you put me down?''

At this point, if any of them looked past the Queen they would see that the figure from early who was holding the golden key was trapped in a comically large birdcage behind the scarecrow.

''Don't stand there, move! Full permission to use quirks, but we can't just stay here!'' Suddenly, the tendrils sprung to life as the Queen attempted to wrap its vines around the three of them, aiming for their necks.

The Forest of Many Arms

TL;DR:
The one that controls everything in the Forest of Arms leaves Iphi and Lone Wolf alone. This entity is a scarecrow calling itself 'The Queen' which talks by repeating back the lines that previous victims of the Forest has said to it. The Queen taunts all of the dreamers before attempting to strangle them with vines. Behind The Queen trapped in a birdcage sits the person holding the golden key.

—---------------------------------------------------------------------------

OOC: Welcome to Dream World Part 2! First of all thank you for signing up!! I'm so excited to tell this story with you all! Remember you have to post at least ONCE per round, but you can skip one round if you have to. A second skip will result in no tokens being given. There are going to be 8 - 10 rounds total and I will announce when we have reached the halfway point, as well as when we're nearing the end in our designated Dream World discord channel.

Remember to include a TL;DR at the end of your post! <3

Additionally, if you want to plan a cool character moment ahead of time, like making a heroic sacrifice or setting up a team attack, but want to keep it a surprise to the other people in the thread until it happens, feel free to sneak into my DMs so we can plan out the details! This is not mandatory, but I want to make sure every character shines and looks their best during this thread!

The next round will begin on 22/04/2024 @ 5pm PST

Music Mood:

tag: Kei Hada, Iphigenia Pavlina, lonewolf

[lonewolf]

Even with Sean's parting words Mark put on a strong face. Now was not the time to wallow in doubt; there was a job to do. And with a nod he was glad to see Iphi manage to recover. "Good to hear. He took off in that direction, and- WHOA!" If he had a nickel for the number of times he had been borne on someone's tendrils in his lifetime, he would have two nickels. Which wasn't a lot, but it was weird that it happened twice. Either way, he adapted, and taking the last casing he had on his person slotted it in to the rifle in his arm. "There's a joke to be made here, but I'll tell it once everything is all said and done."

Once they make it to the staging area and he brings the muzzle to bear, he couldn't help but be disturbed by the taunting. "So, taking bets. We beat this thing, and we can get out of here. Right?" He glanced back at the figure in the birdcage, seeing as they were the one Sean dragged through the earth. Or maybe they're the ticket out? I don't think they have a lot of power here, though. If we defeat this scarecrow and get them out then maybe-

The scarecrow's tendrils were a little too quick for him to react. Upon seeing movement he fired, but the unfortunate truth was he was just some guy with a gun that can look into a window into the past; heavy lifting like this was not his primary strength. The round grazed the appendage, but it wasn't enough to go for the throat. He managed to get his other hand up to prevent it from putting the squeeze on him right away, but it wasn't enough. He'd take a knee, gritting his teeth in order to plan out what the best course of action was, while he was still capable of being conscious.

Kei Hada,Fanthes,lonewolf,Iphigenia Pavlina,

tl;dr:
-Gets whisked away (insert joke about being picked up here)
-Assesses the situation once they arrive
-Immediately gets partially strangulated

[Iphigenia Pavlina]

[nospaces]

[attr="class","skep-holder"]

[attr="class","skep-tiny"]

[attr="class","skep-shape"]

[attr="class","skep-shape-cont"]

[attr="class","lyr1"]Can you hear me

[attr="class","lyr2"]right now

[attr="class","lyr3"]?

[attr="class","lyr4"]I got your number

[attr="class","lyr5"]&

[attr="class","lyr6"]im calling

[attr="class","lyr2"]you out

[attr="class","skep-tag"]

[attr="class","skep-tago"]

lonewolf, Fanthes,n@kei // Iphigenia Pavlina

[attr="class","skep-img"]

[attr="class","skep-content"]

[attr="class","ray-img"]

As Iphi moved through the forest, her mind was sharp. Just moments earlier, the overflowing emotions and lack of a buffer due to the loss of her original quirk had brought her down. When she finally got a grip, it was as if something clicked into place. She had spent more of her life alternating between bottling up her emotions and letting them flow without any control. When she was young, she was rash; now that she's older, she was cautious and reserved. It was time to put her new mindset to the test, and whether she knew it or not, Blackwhip was the perfect vehicle for that.

[break][break]
Arriving on the scene she set Lonewolf down, raising an eyebrow as the scarecrow began to speak in all of their voices. Wherever they were and whatever this was it was clear that it lead them there. "That's the plan." or at least that's what she hoped would happen. There was no guarantee that they'd ever get out of there but she had to try.
[break][break]
Iphi now had the tools to deal with the tendrils that shot out from the scarecrow. She would force the energy out of her hands and push against the ground, launching her slightly into the air. Not wasting anymore time she would extend the energy and sharpen it to, hopefully, rip through those that gripped Mark. "You two focus on the scarecrow, I'll help this...person over there." she would reel her arms back and thrust them forward sending out tendrils of Blackwhip towards the top of the cage. As long as she wasn't blocked she would grapple towards it and do her best to rip it open.
[break][break]
tl;dr[break]
- Iphi finally gets a grip[break]
- Avoids the scarecrow attack and tries to help Mark out its grasp[break]
- Propels herself toward the cage in order to try and free the captor.[break]
[break][break]

[attr="class","boxo-notes"]ADD YOUR SHORT NOTES HERE

KAY

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[Kei Hada]

Kei knew they were running out of time. There was some urgency to what they were doing; the cat guy spoke about having to obtain a key? Not to mention the fact they were being chased by something- he still didn't know what it was, having missed the keyholder himself when they bolted away from the river. In any case, despite the importance of their task, the student kept a slow pace. He wasn't exactly looking forward to whatever was next you know?

Eventually he did stop, confusion evident on his face as he looked on. What happened to the castle? It was fake the whole time? And the scarecrow- it spoke in everyone's voices. He didn't like it one bit.

He hated it, in fact, when tendrils reached towards him.

Kei scrambled back but it was too late. In short order he was in the same position as Lone Wolf; strangled but lifted in the air instead of forced to stay grounded. "No- nononono-" He clawed at the vines to no avail, and it's just his luck that he was on the verge of dying again. He was running out of air- it was becoming hard to breathe. Recall's order fell to the back of his mind but at the end of the day she didn't need to say anything. "Let me go- let me go- letmegoletmego-"

LET US GO!

Because the scarecrow fucking dies today.

Shadows poured out of the boy and once again they consume him, shredding the vines that dared grip his neck before landing to the ground with a resounding thud. The dark mass grew and shaped itself, swirling around until it formed into a fearsome beast, wisps escaping all around it. Several white eyes opened to stare the Queen down.



And with a roar it charged towards her, clawing at the tendrils that stood in its way.

---

OOC: Kei gets lifted in the air by the Queen's vines, but the shadows were quick to shred them before they grew in size to fully encase him. The resulting shadow creature charges at the scarecrow, aiming to kill her outright.

New Quirk Info

Fanthes Iphigenia Pavlina lonewolf Meika Hijiri

[Fanthes]

✧ JUST A DREAM AWAY ✧

The Queen tilted its head as Lone Wolf and Kei seemed to be struggling against its tendrils, amused by their mortal struggles it repeated something Lone Wolf had said minutes prior. ''There's a joke to be made here, but I'll tell it once everything is all said and done.'' It delighted in taunting them, turning its attention to Iphigenia next as she cut through some of its tendrils to help her friends and then went for the birdcage next. ''Hey, stop it! Don't use your quirk on us without asking first!'' It shouted in Iphigenia's voice, silently laughing all the while. The tendrils that were cut in half fell to the ground. Lifeless for just a moment, until their natural textures melted away, leaving only the colors of the arms of the forest. Splitting into smaller pieces, the disembodied hands started circling in on Lone Wolf.

''Kei. Yaoyao. Kei. Yaoyao. Get your shit together? We're not the bad guys here!'' The Queen alternated between Ryota and Kei to say their names, then switched to Kei's voice to finish it's sentence. Kei was able to shred his way through the tendrils with ease, all of which turned into more disembodied arms which were unable to keep up with him and turned to target Lone Wolf instead. ''Kei. Yaoyao.'' It repeated.

''Die.''

''Die.''

''Rot.''

''Help me!''

''Please don't kill me!''

''Funny.''

''Where's my mom?!''

It was myriad of voices, some monotone, some distressed, some casual. The Queen cycled through them like it was playing a game.

It tried to fire more tendrils at Kei, but before the Queen could defend itself, shadow beast Kei tore right through it. As it turned out, The Queen was surprisingly fragile. As its head fell to the ground it looked over at Lone Wolf who was being surrounded by arms which were... Still moving somehow. ''Thank you, Mark.'' It said in Iphi's voice. ''Into the ground.'' It said in a girl's voice. ''One with the forest.'' It said in a man's voice as the arms tried to grab Lone Wolf and drag him under.

''Funny.''

''Funny.''

''There's a joke to be made here, but I'll tell it once everything is all said and done.''

''Thank you, Mark.''

With the Queen preoccupied, Iphigenia was able to tear through the birdcage with ease using her Blackwhip. The prisoner holding the key stood back as her quirk created an opening. ''Not good!'' They cried, their face still concealed under their hood by an ethereal darkness. Just as Iphi approached them the key began to light up dramatically. ''You all need to touch the key, or it's all over!!''

The Forest of Many Arms

TL;DR:
Iphi successfully frees Lone Wolf from the tendrils and manages to get past The Queen as its too busy dealing with Kei and Lone Wolf. The shredded tendrils turn into disembodied arms that try to surround Lone Wolf and drag him into the ground to become 'one with the forest'. Shadow beast Kei manages to to claw through the scarecrow, but the arms still appear to be moving. Meanwhile, Iphi frees the prisoner with the golden key, but they insist that everyone must touch the golden key.

—---------------------------------------------------------------------------

OOC: Welcome to Dream World Part 2! First of all thank you for signing up!! I'm so excited to tell this story with you all! Remember you have to post at least ONCE per round, but you can skip one round if you have to. A second skip will result in no tokens being given. There are going to be 8 - 10 rounds total and I will announce when we have reached the halfway point, as well as when we're nearing the end in our designated Dream World discord channel.

Remember to include a TL;DR at the end of your post! <3

Additionally, if you want to plan a cool character moment ahead of time, like making a heroic sacrifice or setting up a team attack, but want to keep it a surprise to the other people in the thread until it happens, feel free to sneak into my DMs so we can plan out the details! This is not mandatory, but I want to make sure every character shines and looks their best during this thread!

The final round will begin on 29/04/2024 @ 5pm PST

Music Mood:

tag: lonewolf, Kei Hada, Iphigenia Pavlina

[lonewolf]

Mark let out a gasp as he was freed, staggering back as he let his arms relax. This was a great benefit, as he managed to get the barrel in his right arm finally retract, letting his arm go back to normal. Mostly; there was still a casing ready to be fired, but he'd deal with that later.

The chaos that Iphi and Kei/Yaoyao were enacting he began to find himself more and more surrounded, which made his life that much harder. This shouldn't be a surprise to him, as he was not combat oriented. That was why he carried a gun, as it was the great equalizer. He drew the Carry and reloaded with stun rounds, switching it to his left hand as he began to give ground in order to start blasting. That wouldn't help in the long run as he needed to circle back to his compatriots. Flaring his nostrils, he reached into his jacket and drew the Wayward Son, cocking back the hammer and taking aim at the head that fell not far from him. "Yeah, no problem." And with a blast he'd remove it from this plane of existence.

That didn't necessarily help with the arm problem, but it did make him feel a little better. He'd move around the field, making his way towards Iphi and Kei and catching that last sound byte. "Yer up then, Daughter of Darkness! Two of ya git, we'll be right behind ya!"

Kei Hada,Fanthes,lonewolf,Iphigenia Pavlina,

tl;dr:
-Mark finally figures out how to go back to arm form
-Starts blasting with one gun
-Introduces the Queen to God's caliber
-Circles around and makes it back to the pair

[Iphigenia Pavlina]

[nospaces]

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[attr="class","skep-shape-cont"]

[attr="class","lyr1"]Can you hear me

[attr="class","lyr2"]right now

[attr="class","lyr3"]?

[attr="class","lyr4"]I got your number

[attr="class","lyr5"]&

[attr="class","lyr6"]im calling

[attr="class","lyr2"]you out

[attr="class","skep-tag"]

[attr="class","skep-tago"]

lonewolf,Fanthes,Kei Hada // TAG

[attr="class","skep-img"]

[attr="class","skep-content"]

[attr="class","ray-img"]

Still unsure as to what she could actually trust in this space, and without her usual detailed analytical ability she had to rely on just her instinct. Her instincts, now that her thoughts were clear, drove her forward. Hesitating for a moment upon freeing The Queen's captor, she ultimately decided they didn't really have a choice and landed in the cage next to the key holder "If what you're saying is true then I'll take the key to the others" she'd hold open her hand to take the key if the key holder was willing to part with it and assuming they did she would attempt to flag both Lonewolf and Kei down.

[break][break]
tl;dr[break]
- Frees key holder[break]
- questions if what she's doing is correct[break]
- attempts to take the key and get Lonewolf/Kei's attention
[break][break]

[attr="class","boxo-notes"]ADD YOUR SHORT NOTES HERE

KAY

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[Kei Hada]

Everything was a blur by that point.

Kei's eyes hurt from trying to parse what was going on so he kept them shut instead, letting Yaoyao take the wheel so to speak. He heard more than felt the tears; tendrils ripping apart as they couldn't resist the shadow's claws. The Queen was so, so fragile. She shouldn't be so easy to shred yet she was.

The voices were muffled at that point, shadows around him thick enough that he couldn't hear most of them well. If they came from the scarecrow it didn't matter anyway. The shots unlike the voices though punctured the air. Kei didn't need to decipher where they came from. They must've hit something important though because-

HEY, I WAS GONNA EAT THAT

-wait what?

His shock was enough for the darkness to recede just enough for him to respond. "NO I WASN'T???" He felt his feet touch the ground - she was probably done with her assault - but dark tendrils pulled him back when he nearly fell over. Even despite thanking her afterwards he held his head in disbelief. "Yaoyao, you don't even know where it's been!"

Kei's held a hand up to Lone Wolf suddenly. "Can you shut up? I'm tryin' to- dirt adds horrible flavour actually!" Then he paused. Turned to the gun-wielding hero. Actually registered that he was, indeed, the gun-wielding hero Lone Wolf. He sucked in a breath. "I am so sorry."

What did they have to do again? Oh right. Key. Totally important key that they had to focus on instead of yelling at teachers. "We're comin'!" Kei was quick to bolt towards Recall and the stranger, hoping the item would indeed get them out of this nightmare.

He could hear Yaoyao cackle in his head all the while.

---

OOC: Kei disassociates as Yaoyao claws her way through the tendrils and eventually cleaves the head off the Queen. She complains about said head getting shot which makes her and Kei bicker for a while before Kei remembers they still have to escape. Embarrassed over his outburst towards Lone Wolf, he races towards Recall and the key.

Fanthes,lonewolf,Iphigenia Pavlina,

[Fanthes]

✧ JUST A DREAM AWAY ✧

Just as Lone Wolf had suspected, shooting the head of the Queen still wasn't enough to stop the arms from rampaging, but it was enough to cut whatever was controlling the scarecrow itself off from it.

The Keyholder reluctantly agreed to let the key go, but still followed Iphi. ''Wh-What about that one? Another one of the monsters?'' They whimpered, pointing at Kei who had been engulfed in shadows. ''You three, you are indeed the ones who was pulled into the dream? You and no one else?'' Once everyone was gathered the Keyholder put a hand on the key, causing it to glow a radiant light and grow white, feathered wings, soaring into the sky above and pulling the dreamers with it. The forest under them writhed, displeased with this turn of events, but no matter how much the tendrils of the cornfield tried, none of them could reach them now.

Then the key rocketed up further, the terrain below becoming harder and harder to see as the dreamers broke through the stratosphere of the forest dream that had tried to kill them. ''It's not much further now.'' The Keyholder reassured the dreamers as they kept a steady course sailing through the dark void. Eventually they flew so far away that the dream they came from, the world of arms, was nothing but a little dot in the distance. Until it too was consumed by the shadows of the void. It was an odd feeling, an empty, endless, expanse of blackness and yet it felt like something inhabited it. Something that was watching them. Much like the world of arms had been snuffed out, it came for their light source next.

The key sputtered and suddenly came to a halt, its light blinking out like it had run out of batteries and with it, any remaining light source that let the dreamers see each other. ''It's... Not supposed to do that.'' The Keyholder muttered as they fumbled through the dark trying to fix the key.



A giant pair of eyes opened next to them, casting a little bit of light from its irises, illuminating the group of lost dreamers in a dim light. The eyes were easily the size of a mountain each, or maybe the void made them appear that way? The pupils focused and looked down at the small group as whatever the eyes belonged to, whatever lived in this endless void cocked its head to one side.

''Leaving so soon?''

Its voice filled the void all at once, coming at them from all sides.

''I was just beginning to have fun, I had so many more tricks left to show you.'' As it talked, its eyes would drift apart in ways that defied all logic, form and sense, and then just as it seemed like the outline of the creature's shape could be made out, the eyes drifted back into place, as if they were attached to a giant human face. ''Kei. Yaoyao.'' It repeated in familiar voices just like The Queen had.

''Oh well, I'm quite content. I'm sure we'll be seeing each other again very soon. Isn't that exciting? Gives you something to look forward to!'' Its tone was at once whimsical and playful, but also sinister. ''I've seen you and now...''

A giant, purple, veiny arm with freakishly long nails reached down from above, pointing an index finger at the key, making it start back up again. ''Now, you've seen me too.'' It gurgled, the voice filled with an alien sound that was meant to mimic laughter. ''I'll be a guest in your world next time... How about it?'' A hole poked through the ceiling of the void as a giant gateway of light appeared and pulled the key and the dreamers towards it. ''Off you go then.'' It said casually.

''Kei.''

''Yaoyao.''

''Iphigenia.''

''Mark.''

As they drew closer and closer to the gateway, the Keyholder smiled at all of them. ''Looks like this is goodbye.'' Their body slowly began to turn into the very same light the key and the gateway was made of. ''Be careful once you get back, your world is turmoil. Your friends, your loved ones, they're all in danger, but don't give up hope.''

And with that, professional hero Starling Soul managed to extract three more dreamers and bring them back into their nightmare reality.

The Forest of Many Arms

TL;DR:
Everyone successfully escapes the Forest of Arms with the Keyholder.
Whatever was controlling The Queen lives in the void.
It comes to say goodbye to the dreamers.
The End! Make sure to post one last time and turn this in before the end of the season to receive your token rewards!

—---------------------------------------------------------------------------

OOC: Welcome to Dream World Part 2! First of all thank you for signing up!! I'm so excited to tell this story with you all! Remember you have to post at least ONCE per round, but you can skip one round if you have to. A second skip will result in no tokens being given. There are going to be 8 - 10 rounds total and I will announce when we have reached the halfway point, as well as when we're nearing the end in our designated Dream World discord channel.

Remember to include a TL;DR at the end of your post! <3

Additionally, if you want to plan a cool character moment ahead of time, like making a heroic sacrifice or setting up a team attack, but want to keep it a surprise to the other people in the thread until it happens, feel free to sneak into my DMs so we can plan out the details! This is not mandatory, but I want to make sure every character shines and looks their best during this thread!

This thread has concluded! Make sure to turn it in before the end of the season.

Music Mood:

tag: Kei Hada, Iphigenia Pavlina, lonewolf

[lonewolf]

"Kei, no one wants to witness you bicker with your woman," Mark says, delivering a few more stun rounds to a few enterprising arms before backing up towards Iphi and the keyholder. The ensuing feeling of the void, followed by what he perceived as a sudden stop, made him question his life choices up to this point. "What do you mean, it's not supposed to do that?"

The appearance of the eyes, the Master of the realm, startled him. Mark was a nobody, someone who took down petty crooks as he worked his way onto his real goal. This...thing was not something he signed up for. What was a guy with a gun supposed to do against an eldritch being? At the very least, it wasn't intending to fight them...for now. It was ominous, and for once he didn't have a witty quip.

One thing was certain, though. He needed a bigger gun.

Kei Hada,Fanthes,lonewolf,Iphigenia Pavlina,

tl;dr:
-Mark questions his life's choices