[S1E5] A Dream Catcher's Nightmare; E-Corp Mission

[TheBeta]

@Aero5314 and @The Living Daylights Jump in here if you guys are still lurking around otherwise I will just write you guys out when the thread concludes.

The Nameless One, as he had expected, was unphased by Richie presented to him as the face of Nah'Klei. He thought it was a trick, and perhaps in one way or another, it was certainly misleading, but more importantly, it was more revealing than he has realized. He required his guidance in such a situation as this one. It was understandably confusing, and it was only a result of lifetimes of living in a prison like this for him to finally realize what exactly it was. However, the prison was built specifically to contain him. It was a device of infinite torture to allow him to play only with himself. They would soon enough discover this.

The Sentient Nightmare was quickly growing to be his favorite little play thing. A easy to manipulate as Alora was, she was already caught on the hook line and sinker. She'd outgrown her usefulness, and the blade that swept through Richie's neck had severely disrupted the avatar he'd chosen. Richie was so useful to him acting as a sort of barrier to say the least, and when it came right down to the bigger picture, Nah'Klei had been secluded from all his little... "Play Things" for so long that it was hard to love every one of them. However, he'd forgotten so much about playing that he was much like a toddler whipping and smashing his toys so much that they were breaking and shattering in his own hands... so powerful.

Already, the stitching, or so to speak, on Richie was beginning to tear. Alastair was hanging precariously on the edge of a full break down. Alora may as well be thrown away already. And the poor Nameless One was the only one left for him to play with seeing that Karnhal was almost literally frozen in his own perception of the reality he'd recreated for him.

The Nameless One had been quite revealing already, but his misconception of this... disreality was the singular thread that Nah'Klei was holding him by. The precarious thread was something he was long playing with in his metaphorical fingers deciding back and forth whether or not he wanted to actually pull it yet. He knew he shouldn't, but it was the mere knowledge of it being there that made him want to pull it all the more. When he was gone... What would he have left to play with?

"Are you trying to tell me you want Richie? Maybe that you need help to get him?"

Nah'Klei would have laughed if he wanted to comment on it, but the truth of the matter was that he already had Richie. He had Richie from the moment he came with them. Richie bowed to Nah'Klei to worship him as the God he was the very instant he even felt Nah'Klei's presence around him... invade him... become him. Nah'Klei didn't want Richie, because he was Richie, quickly squashing every ounce of the boy that has ever existed and every ounce of his existence that will ever exist. Alora may have thought she had killed Richie in her little fantasy, but he was very much alive in reality attempting to signal them in a futile effort.

However, it was most unfortunate for his final play thing that he'd admitted something that he really shouldn't have.

"Who were you before you ended up here? How did you end up here? I've never heard of a god being imprisoned."

Nah'Klei's attention was almost completely on him by now, "Now... What makes you think I am a God?"

There was no communication between him and the mortal, Alastair, of which ever indicated that Nah'Klei was a God. It was only Alastair that he'd admitted this to. For The Nameless One to come to this conclusion on his own was... Interesting to say the least. Of 'course though, like all things, it could be used to his advantage.

"If it is a God that you perceive me to be... Then a God I will become," Nah'Klei stated raising his hand and ripping the Lightsabers from the Sith's side with a powerful display of the Force that shook the very reality they stood within. And soon, The Nameless One would feel his throat close with an immense grip like that of an invincible vice... God-Like power. The Nameless One would feel his feet incapable of finding the invisible floor they seemed to be perched upon, and he would find that no matter how hard he struggled against the grip against his throat, he wouldn't be able to pry it off, and with each passing second, he would inch closer to death.

If Nah'Klei was perceived as Richie... He was as powerless as Richie ever was. But if he was perceived as a God in Richie's body, he became as powerful as a God, his only weaknesses being that of a pathetic mortal. It was ironic really though, because The Nameless One could have slaughtered countless individuals as weak or even stronger than Richie, and here, he was helpless against the very same person. Especially with Nah'Klei having ripped the sabers from his belt, it was particularly incapable of eliminating the vessel of the God.

***​

Meanwhile, Alastair gazed upon the King before him, and the tears of his still resonating fury burning his cheeks. It was Alastair's own little fantasy, and he could recognize that much. All around him, he could observe the Palace, and it was precisely as he'd imagined it. The site of the ancient Palace lay in ruins the last time he'd seen it. It riches were scattered about as if ransacked but never looted. It had been buried in a hurry for everyone to forget it ever existed. Pillars crumbled under the weight of the earth. The throne had been subjected to the wear of time, and most of all... He remembered something from before he was sucked into the Seal. The whisper it called out to him.

Behind the King, away from his throne, the pedestal stood high. It hadn't been tipped to reveal the trap door beneath it where Alastair first grabbed the Seal in his hands. It was still hidden, and before Alastair could gather his own movements, he felt himself carried by his own feet towards the place as if in a trance of remembering precisely what had happened.

He heard Nah'Klei for the first time at the site where his whispers beckoned the Archeologist, tricking him into touching the seal. Even as Alastair tipped over the pedestal, he knew exactly what he'd find. Then, Alastair felt the hand of the King on his shoulder, turning him around to face him. Alastair hadn't noticed it before, but it was Richie's face instead of whatever Kind ruled that Palace so many years ago.

"I'm afraid I cannot let you do that Alastair," Richie would say, holding the Professor's shoulder, preventing him from turning back to the Seal. It was so close and yet... it was so far away with the student on his shoulder. However, apart from the King's clothing, there was something very different about Richie... it was in his eyes and voice. He could almost swear he had seen a glimpse of a shadow cross his eyes.

Alastair was still stuck in the anger of his own defeat within the last vision and he could feel his brows hang heavy on his eyes and he furrowed an angry stare, "Why is that?" he said through gritted teeth.

 

[Aero5314]

Had she really altered her past? The memories and hurt still were there but at the same time the new memory was imprinted too. Either choice she had made led her down this path, that of becoming a sith. Then again this boy the one she had grown to enjoy the company of. did she really kill him? this place was so strange but at the same time familiar.

Suddenly his expression changed to very serious, “Is this any way to save Alastair? By killing me? I am doing all that I can to save Alastair, and you are sitting around doing nothing, but feeling sorry for yourself.”
While he spoke, the grip on her hand tightened, stronger now than before, as if he was trying to tell her something.
Suddenly, his voice becomes serine again, “Alora. You are an amazing woman. Don’t listen to Nah’Klei. He is only trying to get into your head. You know what you must do,” and a smile appears on his face at that moment. The grip on her hand now held tighter than ever.

he only person she knew was real was here was decapitated but still conscious. "Thank you Richie. it is because of you I know who I really am. I am a sith and will forever be a sith. In my weakness I find my power. My past mistakes are my strength. I will find Allistair, and I will find you."

The grip on her hand softened. Her words, although a pep talk to herself more than anything seemed to calm Richie. Since he was talking to her she had figured this body and head must not be the real Richie, but another mind game by the one called Nah'Klei. She placed his head back where it belonged on his neck. If anything this looked less gruesome. Richies smile was followed with a "thank you." Alora found herself blushing, her pale blue skin flush on her face for a moment. She brushed her hand over his eyes shutting them, and sang a short twilek hymn wishing him peace. At that the life force that seemed to be there vanished.

Becoming increasingly aware of the lightning and the incoming storm, Alora felt compelled to seek shelter. Some distance away loomed a temple. One she hadn't seen before, but now could be seen with every flash of lightning illuminating the structure reaching into the sky. Something more than the storm was pushing her towards it though. The place was calling out to her.

Soon she was at the door. The trip took much shorter than it should have, but as things were going thus far this seemed pretty normal. She reached for the door but as she did so it opened. A chill rushed out from the structure, one that cut to the very bone, yet she still felt as if she needed to go in. This was where she was supposed to be. She pushed open the door. This was no Jedi nor sith temple. The sides of the main hall were full of effigies of the shadowy cloaked figure she had encountered before and at the end an arched doorway. The inscription above read "Woe to those who approach these catacombs. Do not proceed any further for you may unleash the full wrath of..." The rest was scratched out and a crude "god" was scratched below. No light illuminated the structure but in the darkness everything was clearly seen. The statues seemed to move and watch her as she approached the archway. As she dew closer she could see that the arched opening lead to a stairway. Something was directing her towards it and faintly she thought she could hear a conversation.

 

[The Nameless One]

OOC: I think I misread or confused information from one of your posts and that's where the god thing came from. It's all good though, watch me walk it back like a boss.

Even as the mysterious being had asked the question regarding the reasoning behind The Sentient Nightmares use of the word God, the Sentient Nightmare himself questioned the same thing. He recounted the series of the strange events that had happens to him here, even as his weapon was ripped away and he began to choke. Though, the sensation was painful and distracting he knew he was powerless to stop it. So he focused on his thoughts.

The transformation, the rapid and immediately changes of scenery. The Nameless One had been greatly impressed by the talents of Nah'Klei. He had even bestowed upon the being the title of equal. Since he considered himself a God, this meant he'd considered the being in the same light. It hadn't been until The Nameless One had accidently revealed this, that the being had gained the power to directly harm him.

As The Nameless One choked harder he began to realize that this place operated on the power of thought. He began to think, you are not a god, you only have the power I allow you to have, and I allow you to have no further power.

At first this was entirely ineffective. After focusing for a short while, The Nameless One began to feel the pressure on his throat ease. He would continue to focus until he was free. Once free, after he pause, he would begin to speak again.

"You still didn't answer my question," he said, appearing to be unconcerned with the assault that had just taken place, and by the fact that he no longer possessed his lightsaber. The latter truly didn't concern him as he knew the weapon was useless here. "Who were you and how did you come to be here?"

 

[TheBeta]

When Alora placed the head back onto the decapitated body, it seemed to reattach without any sign of scarring. It was the seamless reuniting of flesh that seemed to flash with the briefest line of light across the neck. Art the same time, the very same line of light crossed the neck on the other versions of Richie, the one in the Palace as well as the one in front of The Nameless One.

As Alora walked away, the lightning fluttered in the distance, rapidly approaching. Each strike gained extraordinary distance, quickly catching up to her until they were so close they were practically on top of her, hastening her towards the Temple and causing a static in the air that made her hair statically charged. And as she entered the Temple, it turned into an entirely different universe. If she were to catch an eye out the window, she wouldn't see the flashes of lightning apart from outside of the still gaping door, but instead, she'd see a tropical paradise like that of a Palace.

It may not have been her intention, but she would wander deeper into the Palace until she heard voices echoing throughout the palace walls. The Marble and Gold grew magnificent as she progressed inwards, and the décor became more apparent that it was of the living place of a King rather than anything else. And finally, Alora would turn a final corner to find Alastair reaching for something in the floor and Richie once more standing alive, but with a hand on Alastair's shoulder. Alastair's glare would be piercing and he couldn't acknowledge Alora entering the room, almost as if she was an invisible ghost.

However, despite Alastair's lack of acknowledging her, Richie, in his kingly robes looked directly at her. His neck flashed in that very same light that indicated the reattachment of the head to the body, but within the eyes of the Kingly Richie the shadow of Nah'Klei existed, and a smirk from Richie's lips proved that much to be true. Alora would find herself incapable of moving forward to aiding Alastair, and as much as she would try her voice wouldn't pierce the invisible barrier thrown up, no doubt, by Nah'Klei. But she could somehow her Richie speaking to Alastair.

"Alastair, I am here to help you. Believe me, touching the seal once more cannot be good. It trapped you inside of a metaphysical prison the first time you touched it, how much worse will it make things the next time you touch it? Instead, you must come with me, trust me completely, let go of everything you've experienced. Just allow me to take you, and I will release you Alastair," Richie would say, only the faintest sig of a smirk present as Nah'Klei knew his plan was working and that Alora couldn't do anything to stop him.

Alastair looked up at the kingly Richie, and even as he spoke, the tiniest speck of doubt drifted through his mind, catching his attention briefly. However, Richie was someone he trusted, and how could he distrust Richie? Why would Richie want to hurt him? In fact, Richie was the most trustworthy face he knew amongst the group of his fellow companion. He was the most innocent, sometimes, he was even naïve. Alastair trusted him, and he reached his hand over to the hand of Richie on his shoulder to grab it and let the boy lead him out of this Prison.

"Wait," Alastair said while looking away, "There is something... someone. Nah'Klei. I want him to be freed with me."

Richie gave a very soft and warm smile while nodding to Alastair, "I think that he will be there where we are going Alastair. You can trust me."

***​

The powerful Force of will choked The Nameless One, and as he focused, he could feel himself fading away, not from life, but from existence. It was as if death was a metaphor, and it was becoming blatantly obvious for the Sentient Nightmare. Through the haze of the choking though, he could see Richie's neck draw a white glowing line as the head was reattached to it, and the look on his face was as if one of empowerment. Where the Sentient Nightmare's will power fought against the makeshift Force of the God that Nah'Klei claimed to be and the God that he acknowledged, he could palpably feel the power of Nah'Klei fading. However, as the head reattached, it was as if Nah'Klei became whole again as another version of himself was made literally whole. Where the head was cut off and he was visibly ailed by this action, the replacement of the very same head empowered the God, giving him strength.

Through watery-eyed blinks through the vicelike clenching of the Force around his neck, the Sentient Nightmare observed Richie appearing closer as if sprinting closer between each blink and standing still as he observed. As the head was reattached, the once fading power of Nah'Klei grew again to proportions of the God that he'd acknowledged. As he grew closer to the struggling Nameless One, Nah'Klei's voice could be heard cackling, "You want to know who I am and Where I came from? I thought it was obvious the first time I showed you. How about I show you one more time then," he says as he appears in front of the Sentient Nightmare's face fondling the lightsaber in his hands with a smirk, "Look into my eyes then."

As the Sentient Nightmare looked into the eyes of Richie, the flash of Nah'Klei existed, and in the reflection of the pupils, the Nameless One could finally see himself instead of looking into the mirror completely. In the vision, he could see himself clearly now. His skin was adorned in a mystical sort of armor that reflected as a shimmer of pure black. It was pure, like the feeling he'd first gotten from the presence of Nah'Klei. It didn't seem to exist and t the same time, it was blatantly present. Around him a spire of pure swirling light poured like an infinitely raging river from the floor of what appeared to be a Temple. All around him though, there were floating pillars of stone radiating with light, and spires of flames engulfed various portions of time and space. The very same fire licked at him as the pure armor protected him from it effortlessly.

Suddenly, some sort of weapon crashed into him as he screeched, and the armor shattered around his body revealing deeply scarring burns upon the portions of his naked body that once adorned the purely black armor. However, even as the Sentient Nightmare watched the vision he could tell that although it was indeed himself, it was certainly an older version of himself. And as soon as the armor shattered, he could feel a palpable drawing of power course out of his body into the unknown assailant, and that power was as black and pure as Nah'Klei. And as the Sentient Nightmare could look closer into Richie's eyes, into the vision, he could nearly see into the reflection of his own older version's eyes to see the face of his assailant. But suddenly he was sucked out of the vision to the very real events before him where the hilt of his own lightsaber was held to his own chest.

Nah'Klei activated the lightsaber, the blade ignited with the aim to pierce the heart of the Sentient Nightmare held in his clutches.

All along, Nah'Klei thought to him, "It is so simple. You made me a God, and being whole, I am your equal and even more powerful. You cannot simply WILL me away. You are so frustrating for someone who claims to be my equal. However, I am afraid that I must remove you from this reality like I did with Richie. My plan is already in motion, and Alastair will be stuck here forever. Your removal will seal Alastair's death. Your removal will remove Alora who is too linked to you. Your removal will keep Alastair with me forever. The sad part is that your link allowed you to all communicate with each other the entire time through the link you shared, and not a single one of you utilized it that entire time. It's because you believed that I had all this unrestrained power over you, and that you believed that simply because your fellow companions weren't present that you couldn't communicate with them. It is the very same thing that made me the God that kills you and removes you from this reality."

@Vinn Esper @The Nameless One @Aero5314 @The Living Daylights

 

[The Nameless One]

Ooc: thought I'd use this as an excuse to try out the new fonts.

The Sentient Nightmare reacted as his light saber was brought toward his mid section. He had known that eventually the conflict would devolve into a simple struggle between the two. Still, the transition into it was so disappointing. The Nameless One had learned almost nothing.

His reaction was to catch the oncoming light saber and the arms of Richie/ Na-Klei. He then pushed them away from his body to the right while simultaneously and suddenly pulling Na-Klei forward.

The Nameless One followed the fed naive move by bringing his left arm up and attempting to clothesline Na-Klei. As his left arm connected with Na-klei's he hoped it would be enough to cause him to fall stunned.

He then focused on the final part of his ploy, which was the memory of Alastair. He focused hard on the mental image trying to use it to change the scenery around the two.

 

[Flamjetxx]

With the Forced confrontation that Nah'Klei initiated, The Nameless One had finally done it. For a God, Nah'Klei never needed to use the Force nor did he have any need to use a lightsaber, and using the body of a weak mortal such as Richie, it wasn't hard to believe that The Nameless One was able to out perform him in that Forced confrontation. Perhaps on purpose or not, it didn't matter to Nah'Klei. The clothes line move was more effective than it should have been and the weak neck of Richie, the vessel snapped behind the Force of his arm, the Force of Nah'Klei's approach towards The Sentient Nightmare, and perhaps by some other will power. The Vessel was weak, and Nah'Klei always knew it wouldn't suffice for him.

However, neither of the self-proclaimed Gods would have tie to dwell on this fact as even if it was Nah'Klei's plan all along, his play thing had made his way to Alastair's dream at last. An invisible barrier prevented Alora's frantic attempts to beat herself into Alastair's dream. Likewise, Karnhal had escaped from his own dream and was making every single attempt he could muster to break through the invisible barrier using the Force, beating on it with his lightsaber and fists, and he even found himself meditating on breaking down the barrier as if it were a figment of a dream and that he has control over a dream all he wants. However, what Karnhal had forgotten was that it was Alastair's own dream and as a metaphor of Alastair's rejection of the friends that dared to enter a dream for him by the corrupted lies that Nah'klei told him, it was only something that Alastair could control. No matter how loudly Alora screamed nor how hard Karnhal pounded on the barrier, Alastair would never know their presence.

Alastair was only a fraction of a hair away from grabbing Richie's Kingly hand, and the smirk of an evil God was upon the King's face. Nah'Keli was a touch away from victory, all he needed was the last act to be performed, and so he merely watched intently waiting for Alastair to fall into his trap, even when every manipulation was set.

"My plan is already too far. It is too late to stop it," Nah'Klei cackled in the mind of all of the dream intruders at once as their mind was shared.