Anyhow. It's late and we've much to do, so: [ SESSION START, BITCHES ] [ It's dark. That's all any of you can see. But it's the inviting darkness that you see when you close your eyes, not the complete darkness of no vision. The hint of light beyond your lids that offers the promise of something, if you just open them. You feel stiff and somewhat cold; it's impossible to move your arms, which are at your sides, more than an inch or two. There's no sound, except the pulse of blood in your ears. ] [ If you care to open your eyes, what you see is refracted blue. You are vaguely upright, perhaps tilted somewhat back. What you see is like looking through a prism; indeed, that's probably what you ARE doing. Outside whatever it is that's encased around you is pitch black, although there are occasional other glimpses out of the corners of the same pale blue. Other 'prisons', perhaps? ] [ All that changes with an ear-splitting *CRACK*; the prisons of everyone here suddenly develop spider-thin fractures, then massive faults that crumble each crystal and release all of you into the void. Surprisingly, you fall gently to the 'floor'; though the only indication beyond pressure that there's anything solid is an occasional ripple of blue light around the points of contact. ] [ You all feel a bit groggy, but other than that... it's time to rise and shine. ] ( You can start now. ^_^ ) * Anne groans and sits up. "What a strange dream." * Mitch sits up, and rubs his head, looking around cautiously. * Lilith rises hesitantly to her feet. Her outfit--black skirt slit high and a maroon silk tank--feels thin and revealing, useless as any sort of protection. ( Also, if you wish to participate in the game soundtrack mode, start "Destati - Dive into the Heart" ) * Eric sits up and looks around him, pushing a bit of hair back from his face. "Note to self: pizza before bed causes really freaky dreams." * Beatrice rolls to her knees and shakes her head. "Ugh..." * Anne shakes her head and looks around. ".. Who the hell are you people?" [ Everyone's voices cause a very faint echo. The more your head and vision clear, you can start to see what might be a starfield in the distance above and around the 'floor'. ] * Lilith folds her arms across her chest, clutching herself slightly. "I was going to ask you the same thing, girl." [ The prisons are in ruins around you. They were arranged as the points of a hexagon; in the center floats an intact prison, but it's empty. ] * Eric pushes himself upright, dusting his hands off on his jeans. "This is so weird... never had a dream like this before." If this is some kinda joke, I'm not laughing. I've got work in the morning. * Beatrice is a slim 14 year old, with close-cropped dirty blonde hair and frighteningly green eyes. She's just over 5 feet tall, and wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt with a platypus emblazoned on it. She looks around. "Wow.... it's so pretty!" * Gerard crouches on the ground, touching one of the prisons with his fingers, and makes a hmming noise. * Mitch stands all the way up. "...imported mushrooms, huh. Bad idea, I guess." * Eric looks up at the "sky," trying to see if he can make out any constellations. * Anne stands up as steadly as she can. She's a tall woman, late twenties or early thirties. She's got long red hair, and green eyes, and at the moment is wearing a pair of well-worn jeans and an old work shirt. [ Fragments of the prison feel like polished stone, even the somewhat jagged edges. They're tinted a faint blue and are translucent. Looking through them has a sort of prismatic effect. ] ( Anne is smart! Anne knows to desc herself. You should try to be like Anne. ) * Lilith carefully steps through the shards of the prisons, seperating herself from the group. She's a tall, exceedingly thin woman with pale skin and dark hair. It's hard to place her age between late 20s and early 40s. * Mitch is in his mid-twenties, with blond hair and green eyes. He's wearing business casual dress, and looks very well-groomed for someone with a mushroom habit. ( And... ack. Have to AFK for just a moment. Interact and stuff. ) * Gerard comments, "It doesn't sound... or feel like a joke to me, miss." He looks around 26, with brown eyes and brown hair. Slacks and a polo shirt are over his tanned skin, and a cane is in his left hand. His right hand is holding some of the shards. * Eric continues peering into the heavens, using one hand to shield his greyish- blue eyes, and the other to flip his blond ponytail back over his shoulder. He's wearing a black t-shirt, blue flannel shirt, and jeans, and appears to be in his early 20's. * Anne runs her hand through her hair. "I suppose you'll say we've been kidnapped by aliens then?" * Beatrice looks around, seeming to just now notice the other people. "Oh! Hey, what are you people all doing in my dream?" She looks up, then down, and crosses her arms. "If this is a dream, you know?" (He also speaks with a British accent.) * Eric looks over at Beatrice, idly pushing his glasses up his nose. "Of course it's a dream." * Mitch pinches himself. "Seems realistic." * Anne pinches herself. "Seems real enough to me." * Lilith kneels down, careful not to show anything in her tiny skirt. An easy motion lets her pick up and secret one of the shards in the waistband. But what if it isn't a dream, and this is the stronghold of the Great Will of the Universe or something! * Mitch takes a few shards as well, out of curiosity. * Gerard quirks an eyebrow, and stands. "Aliens sound quite silly to me, miss." He looks over the group. [ Beatrice is kidnapped by Hyakotons, never to be seen again. ] Honey, I really doubt the Great Will of the Universe would have anything to do with me. * Eric snorts. "Aliens. Of course." (That was actually unintentional.) (I bet. Enjoy deep space, abductee.) [ The central 'prison'... chimes, for lack of a better word. It sounds like a small handbell being rung once in a room with excellent acoustics. ] * Lilith laughs. It's a throaty, strained sound. "Whatever this is, it needs to end. My books are open on the tab..." She frowns. * Eric eyes the crystal. "And this comes from *way* too many video games." * Anne walks over to the intact crystal and looks over it. "Feel like I'm in some kind of new age shop." * Gerard taps his cane on the ground, and chuckles. "If this is a shop, then where is the shopkeeper?" * Beatrice looks up, eyes big and sparkling. "Wow! It's like Mom's room, except so much bigger!" * Mitch walks over to the crystal as well, and taps it lightly with a knuckle. [ The prison chimes when Mitch taps it. ] Hmm, very nice. * Lilith scowls. The faint lines that form suggest it's a frequent expression. "Can't we just break through and get out of here?" * Anne looks closer into the crystal. "What on Earth?" Yeah, yeah, good tone. Can I just wake up now? Does.. anyone else see that? See what? * Mitch blinks, and looks closer. "See what?" Look into the crystal. Try to see your reflection. * Beatrice looks at the crystal intently. "What, what?" * Lilith slips free the shard tucked into her waistband and peers at it. * Eric sighs and walks over to the crystal. Well, as long as he's in this weird dream, might as well. * Gerard looks at the large crystal also. Must be some kinda.. trick. [ Anyone looking directly at the central crystal: You see a translucent reflection 'overlaid' on your own. ] [ And on others who are nearby, also. ] * Eric peers into the crystal. "What?" * Lilith shakes her shard. (And for the title of the next Ricky Martin song...) "I don't see anything." Interesting... Cool! It's real crystal magic! It's not magic. It's some kind of trick. They do the same thing at Disney World. [ Anne's other reflection is a dark-skinned youth with wild black hair. Beatrice's is a young girl in peasant clothes with two long blonde pigtails. ] * Eric rolls his eyes. "There's no such thing as magic. Just people with overactive imaginations." Which, at the moment, appears to include me. Hey, there're books and books on the healing powers of nature! * Lilith glances over and sighs. She tucks the shard away, then carefully steps over to the central crystal. Smaller bits of crystal crunch under her highly impractical shoes. [ Gerard's is a bald male monk in white robes. Mitch's is a bored-looking male in volumnious robes, like a magician's. Eric's is a studious woman in a white gown and leather apron with a tool belt. ] Naw. Like I said, I've seen the same thing at Disney World. It's done with mirrors. * Lilith peers at the crystal. She taps it once. * Gerard stares at his reflection. "Perhaps they simply have longer memories." He touches his hair, and chuckles. * Anne knocks on the crystal, right where her reflection is one. "Unless, of course, I've got some kinda strange man inside me." [ Lillith's actually looks quite a lot like her, but with high, tight curls of red hair and a huge Victorian white gown with green lace. The crystal chimes whenever it's tapped. ] * Eric blinks. "A... woman?" [ If tapped more than once close to each other, as Anne and Lilith have done, two separate tones are produced. A perfect major third, in fact. ] * Lilith blinks once, then laughs. "Well, this reflection certainly doesn't know the meaning of restraint in fashion choices." It's weird and all, but what's the point? If ya wanna play a trick, there are a lot better people then me to use. * Beatrice turns and poses, eyeing her "reflection". "I wonder if those are all natural fibers." [ A soft voice fills your ears; melodious, female. Alto. "These... are your memories." ] * Mitch recoils from the crystal, and looks around. * Anne looks around. "My memories? What on Earth are you talking about?" * Eric blinks and frowns. "Memories? What, you mean like a past life? Please." * Lilith raises an eyebrow, but remains motionless otherwise. * Gerard blinks, and smiles slightly, says, "At least I am not alone in hearing that." * Beatrice looks up briefly, then back into the crystal. Her eyes gleam. "Wow! It's just like Mom said. Magic!" [ "They are memories of you, in fact," the voice continues. "Memories of something you shall be." ] Something you shall be? Kinda hard to believe that, as I don't plan a sex change anytime soon. Fascinating. * Lilith rolls her eyes. * Eric looks over at Anne. "Maybe the Great and Mystic Powers got you switched with me." Mystic Powers don't screw up! Otherwise they wouldn't be mystic, you see? Some "Great and Mystical Powers.". I get better service from McDonalds. * Beatrice makes a face. Right. Well, this has been fun and all, but I'm gonna wake up now. * Eric pinches his arm. [ "I am not a mystic power. I am one of you... but I am farther away than you are." The voice takes on a sad tone. "But you have to prepare the way." ] * Lilith walks off again, investigating the boundaries of this room. Prison. Whatever it is. [ The blue ripples under Lilith's feet turn dark crimson. "Passionate red..." ] * Eric looks rather worried now. "I *said*, wake up!" * Lilith looks down, frowning. * Anne stares. "What the hell?" Pinching yourself doesn't *always* work in dreams. "Oh, cool! So you're in here somewhere? Like we were?" She taps the crystal a few times." Right. Well, I'm not about to smack myself over the head or something. * Anne thwaps Eric on the back of his head. "Honey, I don't think you're dreaming. Feel better?" Ow! [ The same occurs with Anne, now, only the ripples become dark orange. The voice is ignoring Bea. "Proud orange..." ] * Eric rubs the back of his head. "No, not really." * Gerard has started twirling his cane, and says to nobody in particular, "It would probably be a good idea to calm down, you know. If you're asleep, you can't be hurt, and if you're awake, then you're already mostly out of luck." * Anne looks down. "Always though of myself as more of a blue really." * Lilith runs her hand along the walls, seemingly ignoring the rest of the group. * Mitch is still looking around, admiring the lights. * Beatrice keeps tapping the crystal, listening to the shiny music. * Anne looks around. "Weird stuff, but nothin' that couldn't be done with mirrors." [ This continues in sequence, the prison chiming with each color change. "Vibrant Yellow" for Eric, "Inquisitive Green" for Bea. "Deep Blue" for Gerard, "Mysterious Indigo" for Mitch. ] Indigo? Oh, well... Vibrant? Me? And who's Purple? Green! Keen! * Beatrice giggles. Jeez, are these titles or lipstick colors? * Lilith glances over her shoulder at Beatrice. An odd expression of mingled annoyance and panic flits across her face as she observes the girl. Violet, you mean. We're missing a Violet. [ "I am the Sensitive Violet, the last... but I am not ready to join you yet." ] Maybe the mysterious voice is our Violet. .. Well, yep. Violet, yes. You'd think art classes would've pounded it into my head by now... and there we have it. So, Violet. What's the trick? You looking for money or something? Man, this is so cool! And Dad told me they didn't put Acid in the campus water supply anymore. You know, the fact that you're on drugs makes thing a lot clearer. * Eric eyes Beatrice. I'd assume that I'd used a bad mushroom in that recipe, but this really doesn't look like what I've heard about mushroom trips. * Lilith walks to the rest of the group. She pats herself, then retrieves a slim cigarette case and a matching lighter. She lights up before anyone notices the cancer stick, let alone can complain. [ The voice seems to... sigh, almost. The ruins of the prisons disappear; in their place appear six small tables, each covered in red cloth and a dark burgundy pillow with gold trim. "There is much you don't understand, but your journey is truly just beginning. Encased here are the crystallized memories of past and future. You may each choose one... but consider, and choose carefully, for the decision is for life." ] "I'm not on drugs." She muses. "I don't think." * Anne looks over the table. "Huh. And how do we know this isn't some kinda trick?" [ "Because you have no choice but to trust me." ] * Gerard rubs his nose. "Considering that either you're all really strange to be appearing in my dream, and think you are all dreaming yourself, I don't think drugs are a factor." He eyes the bowls. * Lilith blows smoke all over the nearest table. "The hell? Someone must have slipped me something major." She swears. "And I try to be so careful..." Fine, but if I explode or something, I'm coming back to haunt you. * Anne walks over to the tables and looks them over. * Beatrice leaves off looking at the main crystal and goes to peer at the nearest bowl. * Mitch nods. "Everyone's behaving too normally for this to be drug-induced." I didn't eat or drink anything that someone could have drugged. I don't *think*, anyway. * Mitch shrugs, and looks at the tables. * Lilith wanders around, sighing and smoking. She finally stops in front of a table. With a fatalistic shrug, she leans against it. * Eric sighs and walks over to a table. "Okay, I'll play along. Just so I can get out of here." * Anne chooses a table at random and walks over to it. "Worst joke I've ever been part of." [ There are six pillows, and six items, one each. The first, a small wheel cog, supposedly made of silver and gold. The second is a small stone statue of a goddess of some form, in armor; an owl sits on her outstretched arm. The third, a beaded necklace with a center pendant of a curved tiger's fang. The fourth, a perfectly formed rose of enamel that looks almost real. ] Less a joke and more performance art, I'd say. [ THe fifth is a silk masuqerade mask, and the last is a silver heart locket on a chain. ] * Gerard walks over to the table that was representing his prison, and looks thoughtful, staring at the pillow and whatever's on it. [ "Choose only one, and choose wisely." ] * Anne peers.. and goes over to the goddess. It appeals to her. * Lilith fingers the locket. * Anne pokes the statue. * Mitch examines the mask. * Eric walks over to the wheel cog. ( I'm asking you, as the GM: Be *absolutely sure* when you pick. You won't get a second chance. ) ( I'm picking what appeal to Anne. ) * Beatrice looks at the cog, then the rose, and finally, the tiger's claw necklace. "Keen! It'll look good hanging on my wall." [ And bear with me, as I'm probably about to have to handle 6 /msg windows at once. ] (I'm good.) * Gerard frowns, looking at the rose. "Strange. I wouldn't think this my style." Uh... yeah. I guess. ( Not discussing it with theothers? ^_^ ) * Eric looks around. "Um. Did anybody else really want this?" (Lilith? Talking? Buh? ^_-) * Anne looks at Eric. "Donno. What's yours?" [ PAUSE ] A piece of machinery. It's... not entirely fitting, but I guess it works. [ Pause until I finish the /msgs. ] [ Okay. Now that everyone's heard the voices: Resume. ] * Beatrice grins and looks up. "It says something about a Beast King. Does anyone else want this one, or can I have it? I really want it, because it reminds me of my cat Phoibos." Mine says something about the Goddess Athena. Mine talked about manmade golems and science. * Lilith picks up the locket and fastens it around her neck. The heart hangs down in her... well, she'd need breasts to have cleavage. It hangs against her upper ribcage, anyway. * Gerard blinks, and puts the rose down, saying, "No, this rose is not for me. Monk or not." Mine mentioned mystery and "vapors of the mind". I think they meant to call my roommate in here instead. This is *so* much more his thing. * Anne thinks. "Beast King? Huh. That one kinda sounds interesting." ( Well, it appears Lilith has made her decision. ^_^ ) (Oh yes. ^_^) * Mitch looks at the rose. [ As Lilith dons the necklace: "You, Passionate Red, accept the benediction of Soul. May its gifts serve you well." ] * Eric motions to the cog. "Anybody else want it?" * Lilith turns around and smirks at the group. "Afraid I got the best one." * Gerard waves his hand, "If someone wishes to take the rose, they are more than welcome." He walks over to the cog. "That remains to be seen, miss." * Anne picks up the Statue. May I ask what was said about the rose? ( You making your decision, Anne? ^_^ ) ( Yep. ) [ As Anne picks up the statue: "You, Proud Orange, accept the benedicition of Wisdom. May its gifts serve you well." ] * Gerard looks at the Cog, and clears his throat, intoning in a speaking voice, "The voice of nature that rings through all life. Do you accept its benediction?" [ The statue becomes an earring that attaches itself to Anne's right ear. ] Nature? That sure as heck isn't me. Interesting... * Beatrice looks at Anne and shrugs, then picks up the necklace and puts it on. She turns and looks at herself in the reflection off the last "prison". And I don't think I want "vapors of the mind," either. * Mitch picks up the mask. ( You deciding, I guess, Bea? ) * Anne pokes the earring. "What on earth? This is just getting weirder and weirder. I want to know what's going on." (Yup.) ( And Mitch? ) (Done.) * Gerard touches the cog, and hmms. "It seems I am out of choices..." Science or Nature. [ The voice continues to ring out: "You, Mysterious Indigo, accept the benediction of Spirit. May its gifts serve you well. You, Inquisitive Green, accept the benediction of Power. May its gifts serve you well." ] Given my background, I think Science is a bit more logical... but if you *really* don't want that rose, I guess I could take it. ( I just know people are going to come out of this mad at me. ) ( I apologize in advance. x.x ) ( Bah. We're not going to be mad. We trust you! Go forth, GM of Justice. ) (Enh, works for me. ^_^) ( Gerard and Eric need to decide. :P ) (I'm waiting for a voice. ^^;) * Gerard is still standing there, touching the cog, with a frown going deeper and deeper... then he blinks. "How interesting. A religion of science." So? You want it? * Gerard nods. "I think, in the end, I accept science over nature." He tosses the cog up and down in his right hand. ( You two decided? ^_^ ) (I have.) * Eric walks over to the rose. "Guess this is mine, then." He shrugs and gently picks it up. * Lilith watches the proceedings with an utter lack of interest, then goes back to her cigarette. So, mysterious voice. What part of this little game comes next? Gonna make us pay for these gifts? [ As the last two take their items, the voice rings out. "You, Deep Blue, accept the benediction of Mind. May its gifts serve you well. You, Vibrant Yellow, accept the benediction of Courage. May its gifts serve you well." ] [ The voice gives another small sigh. "These are bug fragments of memory. In time, all shall be made known to you. But for now, my time is short. Farewell." ] (I guess the voice doesn't take American Express.) [ The cog becomes a necklace; the rose becomes a charm bracelet. ] (Bug fragments! Tasty.) * Eric *eyes* the bracelet. "Oh, cute." [ Everything starts to fade, and then go very white... and then very dark. From sleep you came, and to sleep you return. ] [ END PROLOGUE. ]