Nightmares and Showtunes

Summary:
November 24 2014: Fenris assists Babs and Vorpal in fighting off a pair of dream eaters.

Dreamspace

The dreamspace is a fluid and odd magical place


Characters

NPCs

  • Onierophagoi

Mood Music:
[* None]


Fenris is hunting in a place which is not a place again. Powerful magic has blanketed the eastern seaboard and the Old Wolf has had his hands full figuring out what it's for. Onieromancy… dream magic. Someone is hunting in dreams now and he thinks he knows who and where.

The thing about dream magic is it tends to warp the dreamscape. Tonight a Onierophage is going to strike two people, linked only by the barest of coincidences who happen to share the particular flavor it likes. Fenris appears in Babs dreams to start with, just to make sure she's not going to get drained before they go to find the chaos cat. A god he may be but he can't bilocate.

-

Babs doesn't sleep much, but when she does it's deep and sound… unless there's a Wolf God hunting. Last time, Babs ended up somewhere unexpected and Fenris had to take her out of it. Tonight, it seems like Babs open her eyes and there's the wolf just looking at her. Looking down, she's fully dressed, ready to go somewhere. "Hello Wolf… " The redhead murmurs "What's happening?"

-

Vorpal's dreamscape is not normal by any stretch of the imagination. Telepaths who have tried to attack Keith directly have found that his psyche tends to bite back. This is because while most people only have one consciousness and therefore are easy to dominate (les they possess a ferreous will), Keith's own soul could be best illustrated by a shamrock clover… appropriately enough.

First there was Keith, the young man he has been since he was born, the person at the reins. Then there is the overseer- the Cait Sidhe, lurking in the background from a bird's eye view of things. This is the part that comments on the situation and has a long and deep memory from which Keith can occasionally tap. And then, there is the part that was born from the fusion of the two- Vorpal, a bundle of impulses and unrefrained joie de vivre. It is the interplay of these three selves-in-one that most people encounter to some degree. Seldom it is that one aspect is dominant over the other two… were that to happen, things might get problematic.

In fact, it was Keith's imbibing of the catmint that basically caused the Vorpal side of him to become completey dominant at the nightclub, and that is why he ended up splashed all over the internet with only compression shorts and dancing on a table.

The result of this divided soul is that Keith's dreams are not exactly the same as everybody else's. Most of the time they are lucid dreams… but not necessarily sensical.

Presently, the young man finds himself on top of a mountain that is, essentially an enormous head made out of flocking doves. How he maintains his footing, it is unknown, but the mountainous head is flying slowly over an ocean that seems to be comprised entirely of mirrors. Liquid mirrors. Next to Keith, there is Vorpal, standing with a goofy grin on his face.

"I wonder how on earth it is that we aren't falling through these birds," Keith asks.
"I'm wondering how those mirrors stay so clean, what with all the birds." Vorpal answers.

-

"We're going to a place, which must not be named, to fight a foe who must not be named who is attacking a friend, who must not be named, who does the can-can for reasons which must not be named either." Even in situations like this, the Old Wolf has something of a sense of humor. "We have to go, soon though. Something is stalking you and a young man named Keith. If you're ready…" He crouches down for Babs to climb up onto him. "And remember that all things are possible in dreams…"

-

She recognises the name and she's read the papers, the can-can is a bit of a giveaway, but Fenris said name nothing. Babs eyes the Wolf consideringly and relents… as she moves herself onto his back. Even in dreams, Babs legs don't usually work. "I remember, Wolf" she responds "I believe I know who you speak of, let's go."

-

"Birds, birds everywhere," Keith mutters, "And not a Robin in sight. Is this about the intervention happening tomorrow?"

"I just go with the flow." Vorpal grins and holds his arms to his sides. Amazingly enough he does not shout that he is the king of the world. Although he does step dangerously close to the edge.

Below them, the mirrors begin to reflect eyes. All sorts of eyes, but there is only one Eye In The Sky. It floats high above the clouds and it is of a piercing blue. It gloes, which is where the light is coming from in this world.

-

The trouble appears in the form of, ironically enough, a Robin. It's a large bird, yes, with a cape and a mask. Mixing metaphors a bit? And it's flying right at Keith. Only something's not right, for when it opens it's beak there several rows of teeth within.

Fenris runs along the places inbetween the temporarily joined dreamscapes of Babs and Keith. Behind them something is following. Something that laughs like a hyena but smells like gunsmoke and is pale and green and purple. "This is going to get interesting when we find him…"

-

As the landscapes join and separate, Babs gets fleeting glimpses of the Robin attacking the Man and the Vorpal. The hyena laugh and the smell of the gunsmoke cause Babs to pale and grip tightly… "He can't catch me, Fenris… not this time" the young woman breaths.

-

"… and that's disturbing-" Keith says, looking at those rows of teeth coming his way. He starts running, but that is when the reality of the Head of Birds comes into effect- he stumbles, and falls through them, downwards towards the sea of mirrors.

"Hey, wait for me!" Vorpal dives through the feathery ground without hesitation. Whereas Keith is grasping at the air futilely as he falls, the cheshire cat is enjoying the fall all too much.

-

'Robin' dives after them, his screach a litany of 'Must Train Harder, Must Keep Gotham Safe, Must Be As Good As The Bat'. The landscapes begin to blend, the sea of mirrors becoming a forest floor. Fenris leaps and catches Keith (not Vorpal) by the back of his shirt, and keeps running as both the shadowy presence behind them and the bird chase them. "Babs." He says around Keith's shirt. "It's not really whatever you think it is. It's an Oneirophage. It's here to eat your dreams."

Being Dream-Hollowed is a slow kind of death. A person slowly loses all drive and aspirations and just starts to… go through the motions of life. They become a shell of what they were.

-

Hearing the birds scream Babs cringes "Poor Robin… " she sighs… but no time for that, Keith is snagged in the Wolfs teeth and those words… "This is one dream I would love to feed it, perhaps it will choke on it." a breath and she manages some focus "OK, it's not what I think it is… how do I fight. Can I twist the vision?"

-

"What the-" Keith is jarred by the interception, flailing for a few seconds before realizing who is it that is holding him. "What on earth is going on? Fenris, you're not supposed to be in my—" he stops and looks at Barbara.

"Hey, there's a lady present. Looks like we're going to have to tidy up the old nogging!" That's Vorpal, hovering a foot or so away from Barbara, keeping up with the running wolf and woman, even as the toothy robin screams at them in pursuit. "Can someone tell us what's going on? This is fun, but-"

-

"You're being hunted by something loosed by druid magic." Fenris is still running, looking for something in particular. "You both are."

He sights what he's looking for, a stable place in both Oracle and Keith's joined landscapes. A place they'd both be familiar with: Robinson Park in Gotham. Well, a version of it anyway. "As to your question Babs, it wants to consume you here in your dreams. You fight back by realizing, as I said, that anything is possible here…"

'Robin' lands at the edge of the park, multiple rows of teeth gnashing. A large, slenderman like figure in purple with mangey fur coating it's arms and legs and a mop of green hair also pauses at the edge of the park as the Old Wolf puts Keith down and turns at bay.

-

The redheaded young woman shudders as the slenderman appears and then taking a deep breath, she rallies. To Keith and Vorpal a feral grin on her face "Let's try fighting it like a Boggart, you know Harry Potter, Severus Snape, funny hat… We need to twist the vision to something of our choosing…."

A scene from her childhood is called to mind and if her assumption is correct… the purple slenderman will transmute to a purple puppet, a mop of green hair and a fluffy tail… singing a song about being down at a rock…

-

"Why… Fenris," Vorpal says, grinning, "Do you mean to say that—"

And here, the cheshire disappears for a moment. When he reappears he is wearing a dark blue suit and skirt, with a black hat with wax cherries adorning it. A little black umbrella with a parrot's head on the handle completes the ensemble.

He completes his phrase, changing into a sing-song voice:
~Anything can happen if you let it? It's a marvel!
You can be a butterfly
Or just stay larval.~

The cheshire pooints at the perched Robin with the umbrella.

~Stretch your mind beyond fantastic,
dreams are made of strong elastic..
Take some sound advice and don't forget it:
Anything can happen if you let it…~

Imposing his will on reality isn't new to Keith- the power of chaos magic for his constructs and his illusions relied upon strong visualization. In the realm of dreams, that translates beautifully. Keith looks at Vorpal… and he gets it. He adds:

~When you reach for the stars all you get are the stars,
But we've found a whole new spin:
When you reach for the heavens-
You get the stars thrown in!~

The sky above the park suddenly becomes very bright, as dozens of falling stars come down towards the perched robin, leaving trails of fiery sparkles behind.

He's always one for the sparkles, Keith.

-

The imposing presence of the Old Wolf prevents the Onierophage from attacking physically. So it has to engage in a contest of dream manipulation with the two dreamers. Babs finds herself locked in a contest of wills with the Slender-Joker. It starts to warp and morph just as Babs wants it, but Babs herself finds the target of a twist on her own dreams, regressing her to a much younger woman. A girl in fact. A frightened little girl. That's what it wants her to be, and it's trying to force it on her.

Keith… Keith isn't in a contest of wills. He's in a contest of tricks. The 'Robin' stands up stright as stars begin to fall all around it, hopping to avoid them and not get seared. And it starts to sing.

"Spring time for Batman and Robin! Autumn for Vorpal and Gar.
We've got those Titans on the run. Blow up their tower just for fun.
Springtime for Batman and Robin…"

The landscape begins to warp as the sky falls. Now the Titan Tower is burning… and everyone but Keith is dead.

-

All very good and well to try and revert someone to a terrified younger version of themselves, but a happy home life with very few bad experiences doesn't really give much to draw on. Yes, the green eyed woman starts to experience terror but it has no substance. The terror brings to mind another happy moment, and the woman (not the girl) recovers and starts chanting "I Believe In Fairies, I Do, I Do" over and over and over….

-

Keith is on his knees as the image completely overwhelms him. Vorpal may be master of dream-threading, but Keith doesn't have the hidden heart of a cat- his greatest fear is very evident.

"Oh god… no… Robin-" He reaches for a charred arm that is protruding from the debris- he can tell it is Robin's because of the green glove. There is a strangled cry from him when he sees what has become of Bunker, and he turns away with tears in his eyes only to see Garfield stretched out on the ground.

He's clearly dead, and his uniform has been ripped in several places to show terrible wounds. The young man runs through the debris and the occasional falling ember to kneel by the fallen titan an cradle his body, the sound of his grief is almost animalistic in its rawness- no words are formed, just sounds.

"Don't let him confuse you!" hisses Vorpal, floating over Keith's shoulder. "This isn't real, remember?"

But it's to no avail- Keith has been compromised, so the Oneirophage has managed to unbalance the triunvirate. The cheshire looks around, looking for eyes in the darkness that might start approaching now that Keith is vulnerable.

Meanwhile, in Barbara's dream—

"I do believe in Fairies, I Do, I Do…"

He appears in a flash of purple light. An anthropomorphic feline, very much like Vorpal, but jet black with large, green eyes. He has a spot of white on his chest, but that is not evident due to the fact that he is dressed like a Victorian lord, including the top hat and cane. "Why, thank you. I do believe in you, too."

The Cait Sidhe. Technically a Fairy. He gives Barbara a grin- it is wide, but non-threatening. "Someone is playing dirty, aren't they? Preying on our dreams. Tut tut. Fortunately, you— what's your name, gel?" He says, pointing his cane at Barbara, "You actually have the key to end this."

-

There are eyes approaching Keith now, from all around. The song from Robin has changed now. It's now Oliver Twist. "Food Glorious Food! We're anxious to try it. Keith dreams ala carte. Our favorite diet. Just picture his tears and screams, savored with the druids! Oh food! Glorious Food! Wonderful food! Marvellous food!"

Fenris interposes himself between the approaching maws, but this doesn't look good. "Keith! Snap out of it."

On the other side, The Slender-Joker looks… worried, confused, and more like a doll with every passing second.

-

Babs, the woman, looks at the Cat "You look familiar" she says vaguely "Uh, Babs, I'm Babs Gordon…" Keith gets a look from the Woman "For Gods sake Keith" she glances at the Cat as if to say 'our secret' "This is Oracle. I need your help."

-

"So you are, Barbara Gordon." The Cait returns the glance- he sees everybody loud and clear, but all secrets are distilled into riddles that are safe enough to tell. "And my help you wll have." His gloved hands extend, as if holding a tray out to her. Out of thin air, a speak-and-spell appears on his hands, and it slowly transforms into… a laptop. With a bat-symbol on its back.

"The eaters of dreams feast on the creativity, the chaos. Old Wolf is correct in how to fight them, but I am afraid that the execution itself requires more… drastic approaches."

-

Keith does not seem to hear Fenris, he is caught up in the illusion and his holding on tightly to Gar's body. Vorpalk glances at Fenris and shakes his head, "Hit him hard, he did." Vorpal narrows his eyes at the glowing eyes that come near, and he swipes his hand at the darkness. Swaths of green grass and piercing shafts of sunlight appear. His self is too divided to change the whole of the dream, but these patches might buy them some time.

Meanwhile, the Cait Sidhe holds out the laptop to Barbara. "You are a creature of logic, Barbara Gordon. Dreams are chaotic, unpredictable… they lack programming altogether. That is what the Eaters thrive on-" he grins, setting the laptop down in front of Barbara. "… what do you say you change that?"

-

Fenris actually eats the first Oneirophage that gets too close though it quickly becomes apparent why he did not do that to begin with, because his alaready black fur darkens and his eyes begin to glow. Too much of that and he'll be a nightmare himself. One that can end worlds.

"Keith for the love of…!" The old wolf rounds on him and slaps him with a watermelon sized paw.

The Slender-Joker is already reeling… if Babs were to impose her own will on it now…

-

Shaking her head at the Cait-Sidhe, Babs corrects. "Every has an order, whether we understand it not." The computer in front of her, hands on the keys, centres her. Eyes narrowing, she contemplates the nightmare, decontructing it in her mind…. and her fingers start moving over the keys. Bit by Bit; Byte by Byte, the nightmare in front of her is deconstructed and reconfigured to something of her liking.

Babs domain is digital. By providing the computer, the Cat has prompted the woman to play to her strengths. Here, in the dream, the person tried emotion… But Oracle, applies cool digital logic to rewrite and reconstruct…

-

"Hey, I said he hit him hard, not for you to-" Vorpal interjects, as Fenris' first attempt to innaugurate the sport of Keefball sends the redhead sprawling.

As he pushes up and shakes his head, though, he begins to think-
The tower had already fallen.
Robin didn't die when the tower fell. He hadn't even joined the group.
The intervention was happening tomorrow.
Therefore Robin couldn't be dead.
Therefore none of them could be dead.

"You son of a bitch!" Keith springs to his feet, fury burning him through and through.

"Aaaand he's back," Vorpal says, raising an eyebrow."

The redhead turns to the smoldering tower and shouts at it, waving a hand. Debris flies back in place, and the tower is back to normal as it once was. But that is not where it stops- It becomes golden… and flat, like an enormous T-shaped sword with very sharp edges.

"I'll show you what real death looks like!" Keith snarls and makes a dramatic gesture with his hand. The enormous T rises from the ground and flies towards the Oneirophagi, twirling rapidly in the air like a massive scythe. Vorpal grins, giving his own little push to the blade with his will.

-

In Bab's dream, the Cait grins. "Good girl. I do believe in Gordons, I do, I do." And with that, he slowly vanishes from sight, returning to his overseer position now that Keith and Vorpal seem to have regained the reins. Barbara won't need him anymore, or at least for now, now that she's found her own reins to pull.

-

The reality around them begins to reshape. Gotham city again, but a Gotham free of the crime and corruption that plagues the real one. All things are possible in dreams. Oracle is proving it right now. Keith's T literally smashes through the Onierophagi, scattering them like crows. The Slender-Joker disappears in a burst of code and a pained howl…

And just like that, it's over. They're standing now in Downtown Gotham. A surprisingly clean and not at all frightening downtown Gotham.

-

Babs, not Oracle, blinks and looks around casting a rueful smile at Keith. "How you doing there, Keith?" the womans voice is hoarse, gravelly, she's in need of a drink. "Fenris, would you care to explain…." the Caits laptop has gone… the woman looks exhausted but determined "So this is what I dream of…."

-

Keith is sitting on the ground, looking exhausted himself, as does Vorpal who is leaning on him, similarly sitting on the ground. It is clear that the exertion has been too much. He is becoming transluscent- they both are.

"We're about to go into the dreamless sleep," Vorpal explains. "…exhaustion is too much, and we haven't fully recovered from…"

The cat mint. Better not mention that.

"… nice meeting you… whoever you are…" Keith says, giving her a rueful smile. "Fenris… you'll explain when I-"

And they're gone, Keith and Vorpal, just like that.

In the real world, Keith rolls over in his sleep and huddles against Gar. He's not dreaming. For now.

-

Fenris smiles and turns to Babs, laying down in Dream-Gotham's street. "Well…" He notes the lack of wheelchair for her in this. "That was interesting. Well done, Barbara."

-

"Interesting, as in the Chinese curse, Fenris?" The importance of the fact that she's been chased through her dream landscape by something resembling The Joker is not lost of the redhead. "Thank you all the same."

-

The Great Wolf, still blacker than midnight, shrugs. "It is what I do Barbara. I object to magical things hunting in my domain. Not because I am particularly benevolent, but because it is mine." At least he's honest about it.

-

"So many questions" the woman says, relaxing on the ground next to the Wolf. "Let me start with, are you ok? I see the difference, what do you need?" A look of concern fills Babs face.

-

"I absorbed a portion of the Onierophage. I'll survive, but it will take me time to rid myself of it's essence. This is the reason I did not simply eat it to begin with. Had I done so, I would have lost myself to nightmares of the world's end." The Old Wolf is indeed warmer to the touch than usual, as if fire was burning beneath his skin.

-

"If you're sure there's nothing to be done…" Babs looks a little doubtful. "May I lean against you?" She's a touch unsure of that question. "Why Keith and I? I could assume there's something about our concern for Robin but…" Babs shrugs.

-

"You may." Fenris chuckles. "Onierophagi choose their victims based traits they enjoy consuming. You both care deeply for your friends. It may have been as simple as that."

-

Babs leans against Fenris, relaxing. "It's dealt with for now… I'm suddenly quiet tired Fenris. I'd like to enjoy what I've created here for a minutes more, care you able to take me home after that?"

-

"Of course I will Babs." The God-WOlf looks about. "It really is a nice place, if you clean it up." Perhaps it can be in the waking world once more.

-

"You know who I am, really, don't you Fenris… " Babs says quietly "It is rather nice, cleaned up."

-

Fenris chuckles. "It's rather difficult to mistake your voice with these ears." He says softly. "Yes, I know who you are, and what you seek and why."

-

"I'm glad you do, maintaining the secret with people close to you… and you are as close to me as most get, can be wearing… " It's telling that Babs doesn't ask personal questions about the other, habit perhaps? "Did I miss anything I should ask about tonight or is there something you wanted to know?"

-

"Mmmmm, no, I do not think so. Magic is, as I understand it, rather not what you do. I could teach you much but it would take time as with learning anything else." The Old Wolf rumbles. "Close to you as any other, mmm?"

-

"Yes as close as any other. Certainly worthy of more trust than some. Are you shocked?" Babs is quiet as she says this "You enter my apartment and I don't bat an eyelid, you spirit me off to meetings in New York - for which I'm exceedingly grateful - and you take me to tea and defend my honor… as a friend, you're as close as any other."

-

Fenris chuckles. "I suppose I had not thought of it in that manner." The Old Wolf says. "And you find it difficult? Leading the double life?"

-

"My life can get lonely… my computers and all the information aren't necessiraly great at the human comfort factor." Babs pauses and thinks "The double life isn't difficult, it protects me. It's just when… you find someone you want to let in… it's difficult to know how, where and when. I've already done the threat and risk assessment modelling, but you need to apply the squishy stuff, the human factor to see if it all makes sense." Babs, like Tim, has done a lot of hard thinking about this.

-

"To see if it's safe to let someone in? To see what you gut says as it were? The notion of doing a threat and risk assessment on him makes Fenris chuckle. The god-wolf is a near infinite risk viewed from some perspectives.

-

"Trust, Fenris, Trust. That gut feeling, that's part of the squishy stuff. Let's say I meet someone on the street today, as Babs. Then they meet Oracle in another capacity." Babs takes this slowly as she thinks it out. "Now let's say I really like this person, want to get to know them better, want to let them into my life. I've determined they won't betray me… But where's the trust I've built with them by obscuring the relationship between my two persona's?"

-

"Is this a hypothetical situation?" Fenris chuckles. "Never mind, don't tell me. Trust goes both ways. As you show it in them so they should show it in you. If you trust them enough to let you in, perhaps trust that that is returned enough for them to allow themselves to be let in?"

-

"And what if I leave that letting in too late? That's my concern" Babs is quiet as she thinks about this.

-

"That's always a risk with the double life." Fenris says softly. "I've had that problem myself. The difference is I generally outlive the people I trust. And you will likely not. Since you only have one mortal lifetime to work with, do try to make the best of it."

-

Babs simply nods "It's a tough one and not just one that those of our with double lives are confronted with." The woman stretches, quite elegantly considering, and then takes a look around at clean Gotham. "When I did what I did, I didn't know what I was asking for, I'm quite stunned that this is what's in my psyche."

-

"I am not." Fenris chuckles. "Night after night, do you not work for exactly this? Is this not first and foremost on your mind in most everything you do? What other outcome did you expect?"

-

Snorting at that Babs looks chagrinned. "I suppose I forgot what I was fighting for and was only remembering that I had to fight. I suppose it's like that for many." Babs considers momentarily "What about yourself Wolf… what can you share of yourself with me…"

-

The Wolf is silent for a moment, lost in thought. "There are many stories of me that men know. Most of them are true in some fashion. I am the Monster that drowns the world in night before darkness takes you all. I am the devouring wolf at the door. I am the reason that men huddled around campfires for safety and shivered at the sound of the howls in the shadows. All this I have been. And I came to this place to escape that. I fight because I will not lose the home I have made for myself, nor ever again be made a captive of a story: the narrative of a monster who every moment was calculated to cultivate hate and insanity."

-

This makes Babs thoughtful "So you can change your fate… I imagine it was tiring for you for so long to be seen in such a way. I think that makes you an amazing Man… to want to change that." Babs eyes are starting to droop. "Would you mind terribly if we went now?"

-

"Not at all." Fenris doesn't even rise or open a Way this time. The scenery merely shifts around them as he returns Babs to her own dreamspace. "Sleep well, Barbara." Beat. "And sweet dreams."


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