Log:A Dream Before Dying

Grimm Family Matters 2020/08/24 Dialydd Radical|Connor Phantom 13

It's been a long day of summer practice for football season. You've had to return early like all the team for the end of summer practices. The heat and humidity have really taken it out of you. So, you after you shower you go to get a snack and drink and take them to the divan. After snarfing them down, you lean your head back for a just a moment in the cool bliss of the underwater Cosmos.

When you open your eyes, you are resting on a soft bed of sweet smelling moss on the edge of placid pool. You know a spring bubbles from beneath a rock behind you but you have no idea how you know nor little interest in turning to look. You know the pool in turn feeds a river which you can just make out n the distance as it flows out through some very exotic looking flowers that seem to have a glow all their own.

The air is fragrant with the scent of flowering plants, some sweet, some spicy. The sky is overcast but rather than threatening, it is pearlescent and soothing; not grey but more like a wonderful sunrise or, perhaps, sunset. The shadows here are soft edged and, while deep, not dark.

Oddly, there are no animals that you can see, but you can hear birds singing in soft minor keys.

"Hello, ser," murmurs a familiar deep rich voice from behind you. If you turn to your left, you see Dialydd in his dream form, sitting beside you. A faint, sad smile rests on his lips and his eyes have a faraway look.

Phantom feels rested as his "eyes" open. Here in the dreamscape, Travis can see. Or remembers being able to see, and so he still can here. It's not as fragmented as it is when he piggybacks on other's visual cortexes.

He sits up slowly slowly, and turns his head toward the familiar, unmistakable voice. "Oh. Hello," he says as he starts to quickly become more lucid in his dream. Or their dream? Or the dreamscape? He's still learning. "Is something wrong?" he asks.

The alien youth looks at Phantom for a long moment before replying. "No, nothing is wrong, per se, ser Phantom. All progresses as it should." He smiles more brightly. "It is good to see you again. Tell me, did you ever manage to help that young girl who was lost? The one's whose astral cord snapped?"

Phantom notices that both he and Dee have astral cords; Phantom's strong and vibrant, Dee's almost translucent.

Connor is himself in the dream. Not the Cartesian. Not his new heroic identity of Radical, either. He's just his normal self. He walks along, noting the sounds of the birds...and spotting Dialydd and Phantom. He recognizes Dialydd at least. Phantom...he thinks looks familiar, but he's not entirely sure.

Phantom nods and smiles, relieved that Dialydd is alright. No more Raven coming to take another kid. He's floating, crosslegged near Dialydd now without even realizing it. "Yeah, kind of. The cord still snapped, and her body...well. She's still separated from it. But she remembers who she is, and she's able to affect the physical world now. She's at least not lost anymore, but the rest I don't really understand." After pleasantries are exchanged, he notices the faintness of Dialydd's cord. "Something's wrong, isn't it? You totally just lied to me--" he starts, and then he notices another dreamer: Connor.

Connor furrows his brow and walks over to the two of them, figuring that he's dreaming himself...and there's no connection to anyone else. "Dialydd. I'm...sorry I haven't been able to help you. I tried.

Dialydd's trace over to where Phantom's gaze travels. He cocks his head to one side, his eyelids flashing closed for a moment before he replies. "Cha, you have me at a disadvantage, ser. But, whatever you haven't..." His voice trails off for a moment. "Ah, you are dreaming. You are yourself. That is why I do not recognize you, isn't it?"

Phantom looks between the two, not fully following.

Connor looks at himself and sighs a little. "Ah. Right. You've only seen me with a mask." He looks to Dialydd again, "I go by 'Radical' now."

Connor furrows his brow. It's his dream, right? So, why doesn't Dialydd just...know who he is?

"Welcome to the Dreaming, the Dreamlands, the Dream Realms, ser Radical," murmurs Dialydd in a formal tone. He gestures to the surroundings. "We are near, cha, an edge one might say. An antechamber between Dream and, well, what lies beyond Dream sometimes. They touch in places you know."

He looks back to Phantom. "Ser Phantom, may I introduce ser Radical? He is a good man of your world and time. And Ser Radical, this is Ser Phantom. He dreams as well. As do I...for a short time more."

Phantom waves to Connor casually. He doesn't recognize Connor or the name Radical. "Hello," he says kindly enough, even if he feels like he's missing something.And then he catches on. "Wait, what was he trying to help you with?" asks the specterly teen.

Connor sighs. "I was trying to see if I could save his life."

Phantom tilts from his floating seated position like he's about to fall over, then manages to right himself with some arm flapping. "Wait, what?!"

"I chose the path I did, ser Radical. I chose with open eyes to enter into the fight and accept the consequences." He looks down at himself. "And here, near my end, I am whole and hale. I feel no pain nor ache nor cold." He laughs softly. "I simply wish I had more time. But, I think even the gods and immortals think such at the end after aeons uncounted."

He looks to Phantom. "In the real, I have fallen into a coma. Or so I guess as I cannot awake. Something normally easy for me do. Dream is, cha, my second home after all. My lifeforce was drained by a, cha, evil mage. My body fails and, well, I wait for my psychopomp to take me on now."

The alien youth looks around. "It is a beautiful dream, this dream of Eissa's garden, the Mere of Souls, the River of Life. Much as I pictured it."

Connor thinks about it, "That means you'll have a choice to make soon, Dialydd. Have you decided what you will do?"

"How could you say nothing's wrong?" Phantom complains, upset. His legs unfold as he drifts up and then sets his feet under him to stand. "Your Psychopomp? Like the Raven Girl?" he asks. He looks between them. What choice?"

"I have questions of Eissa, or of Jon'no, her warder, before I can decide, ser Radical. I...I wonder why I am offered choices, for one. By my people's beliefs, cha, we believe in rebirth after a time in, hopefully, a paradise on Orhan, the moon and realm of the Lords." He gestures to the garden-like area around you all."

"Yes, like the Raven Girl, Phantom. But, for my people, Jon'no, Eissa's warder, guardian of the Gates of Oblivion, comes for us. He is said to be the son of Eissa, created by her breath turning a handful of the water of Life into steam from which he formed." He reaches over and touches the costumed teenager's arm. "I gave my life fighting against one who serves those who once near destroyed my race, Phantom. It is a good death. Age came for me too soon but among my people, we know the signs. We slowly fade, mostly painlessly. Is is, cha, better than many deaths."

Phantom still isn't happy about the situation. "I hope those guys paid in the end, then," is all he can says about Dialydd fighting the good fight.

Connor listens quietly. He says to Phantom, with a bit of sadness, "Remains to be seen."

Dialydd murmurs in a darker tone, "Well, should you remember when you awake, ser Radical, kick him somewhere painful for me before sending him screaming to the Destroyers, yes?"

Connor nods somberly. "I will try to remember that."

Phantom sighs at Connor's revelation of the fate of Dialydd's killer. "Well, I'll just keep hoping, then."

The alien youth picks up and gestures with the moonlight staff that laid by his side. The astral cords of everyone present appear as Dee manipulates the stuff of dreams. You can all now see the astral cords of each of you: two strong and vibrant and Dee's translucent and fading in and out.

Connor nods, "I'm hoping he'll meet justice. I'm loathe to kill. But I know that might have to be the result. I have been...struggling with that."

"Struggling to kill a killer? Seems like a no brainer to me," Phantom says, though he's young, and doesn't really know the full weight of what that would do. He looks to Dee's cord beginning to flicker and fade in and out. "Oh no..."

"Ah, yes. Coma," states Dialydd as he looks at his astral cord.

The youth looks up at Conner. "Would you hesitate to kill a mad, cha, cat, ser Radical? The mage is insane and dangerous in ways far beyond mere evil. He can only and will only try to destroy as far gone as he is. Nothing can change it. Sera Grimm is a remarkable exception, not by any means the norm."

Connor nods. "I haven't killed before, as far as I know. Even when I was The Cartesian. Defeating demons just...sends them back to their realm. I know there's a good chance I'll hesitate." He breathes deeply, "I will will make sure he faces justice. That I am sure of."

Phantom is at least satisfied with that. He looks to Dialydd. "Is there anything else we can do for you?"

"Live well. You can do that for me, ser Phantom. Be happy. Put fear aside and embrace life," murmurs Dee after a long moment of contemplating the mere before you all. A mere you now note shows no reflections of any of you but only the surroundings.

And then, back in the real, you both awaken. Brought out of dreaming by noise or alarms as hours have passed since you closed your eyes.

Log:What Must Be Done