Hello everyone sorry for the late chapter, Doing this a little out of order from what I mentioned before since I think it will fit better. With this chapter everyone should understand why I kept defending Dreamer as not being evil. As I mentioned before there are far worse things than death out there. 3 more chapters for this Arc, next one is almost done, I am just getting hung up on details. so it might get delayed or it might be up later tonight. Btw I am thinking about dropping the Arc # from the titles of the Chapters and just putting "To Skin A Cat, Chapter 9 Interlude: Living Nightmare" for instance since putting the Arc number is getting redundant and making the titles super long. What do you guys think?
Also check out my other story The Shattered Realms Rise of Zulguarde http://royalroadl.com/fiction/8115
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Vespidian Arc 6, To Skin A Cat, Chapter 9 Interlude: Living Nightmare
Dreamer breathed a heavy sigh of relief, that had been a very close call, far too close for comfort. If Panther had not been there she would have died. That being said, where was she? Her thoughts echoed out through the inky sky. It took a long moment for her to realize this place was what she referred to as the Dreamscape or to other’s someone’s mind. Who was she in now? Was it Panther or perhaps Captain Metal? She did not remember entering anyone, it looked dark and twisted with old dried up trees beside the cracked stone walkways. Truly a frightening place, for others that is, not so for Dreamer. She recognized this place, it was her own mind. Seeing no particular reason to stay she motioned for a door to leave, only it did not appear. Surprised, she tried again, to no avail.
“Leaving so soon?” whispered a voice from all around.
“I have no time for you. I have a city to save and people are dying out there!”
“So cruel, same as always. So tell me, what will you do to stop Glitter Kitten?”
“Once we reorganize it will be a simple matter.”
Glitter Kitten materialized out of a swirling dark mist. Her sensual form perched upon a branch above. She mocked down at Dreamer laughing hysterically, “Nyahahahaha! You think you can catch me? Too slow, much too slow. You are pathetic and weak. Who do you think you can possibly protect? You are powerless.”
“Just go away, I know you are not real.”
“Reality is subjective. You know that little Dreamer.”
“Just as I know you are nothing but a figment of my imagination.”
“Am I now? I don’t know if I should laugh or be offended. Come now Dreamer, you are smarter than that. I know, I made you.” The cat girl melted into a bubbling smile that spanned the sky with blood red eyes watching.
“You did not make me.”
“Just keep telling yourself that.”
“Oh, shut up.”
“You are weak.”
“Look, I don’t have time for this. Stop blocking my way, Nightmare.”
“If I am simply a figment of your imagination, then why don’t you just wish me away? Should not be that hard, for someone so strong and virtuous as you… just kidding. Has the thought never occurred to you that perhaps it is you who is not real?”
“I am real.” She scoffed, eyeing the bubbling darkness.
It shifted and squirmed transforming into Vespidian. The sleek carapace glistened in the low light as the hauntingly white mask of a face creased, grinning. Shivers scurried down Dreamer’s spine and she broke eye contact with those portals of darkness. “You don’t sound convincing.”
“Why did you choose her?” asked Dreamer.
“Did you think I did not notice? Your obsession, your desperation to save this poor girl from herself. After all, it is not every day one finds a mind so similar to us.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Foolish Dreamer. I know what you were up to. I know your thoughts, I hear everything. Planning to kill me, using her as a subject to see what would affect the parasite, the darkness. Unfortunately for you, there will be no salvation from studying this one. Try as you might, you will fail. As you always have. You can’t beat me. How can you when you can’t even use our power properly?”
“Shut up. You are nothing, but a ghost.”
“Struck a nerve I see. Go on, do it, leave. After all, you are so strong and valiant. The big hero trying to save everyone from that which they do not even know. Yes, Chimera and Kraken. Oh wait, you can’t leave because you are weak.”
“Enough of your ramblings.” She said, imagining a door to leave. However, as it formed the darkness strangled it and the light died.
“So weak, so pitiful. To think I made such a disgraceful thing. You can’t even use rank 5 powers, while I am a rank 8. Just look at what you did to my favorite pet, you butchered her mind.”
Dreamer trembled with rage, “Youko Izumi was a murderous fiend! She ripped her own parents to pieces with shadow monsters summoned from her mind.”
“She was just a scared young girl unable to control her powers.”
“Bullshit. We both know she was fully aware of what she was doing. For god’s sake, she was getting sexual release from it!”
“True. Oh, we both know that was just her virgin kill.”
“I know,” grit back Dreamer, “You don’t have to remind me of the atrocities that thing is capable of. I remember the crime scenes very well. Her MO was luring her classmates and friends over to her house before torturing them and letting her monsters devour them.”
“My little monster has killed over fifty people in the short time since I awakened her latent powers. Pretty good for only a month. I am proud, really proud you know? Imagine how much more she could destroy if given longer. Then you went and turned everything into cotton candy, kittens, and rainbows, ugh. Disgusting.”
“You did not awaken anything. She is a mentally ill individual who is getting the help that she needs. You had nothing to do with it. Her power if channeled properly could do great good.”
“Oh, right,” said the ebbing shadow shaking her head, “That was before your time. After all, that was one of the first things I did when I came to this city. Thought it would be fun, you know?”
“Came to this city? What are you talking about I was born and raised here.”
“I know. That is what I made you think, you are simply a persona, a cover if you would. Dreamer is an alias of someone who never existed. Tell me, Dreamer, what is our real name?”
“That is crazy! You are nothing but lies. My name? That is easy, it is Rachel,” glared Dreamer.
“Not that name, our real name.”
“What are you talking about?!”
“Don’t you find it odd that you never questioned it till now? Well, it is simple really, you are not Rachel. You are, but a Dream, hence your name. I allowed you to use my body so that you could infiltrate the Hero League.”
“What? No, no this can’t be.”
“Ahahaha, so easy to make you doubt yourself. Oh, but it is true, I even got plastic surgery to change my appearance. Can never be too careful. It would not due to have any of those Kraken scum recognize me.”
“That is ridiculous. I am a hero, I save people. I will not let the city of Bronson down!”
“Yeah, well about that… unfortunately, your usefulness to me has come to an end. At the least outside, in here well I have a very special use for you.”
“What the hell are you-” started Dreamer before her mouth was covered.
“Hush now, poor sweet child of mine. You have done everything I wanted and more, though you are proving to be a liability. On a few occasions, I have had to step in to ensure that my scheme was not interrupted. As fun as it has been watching you play the hero, my plans are moving forward. One step at a time. However, this requires finesse and I can’t have you bumbling around, saving people and otherwise giving the Hero League a good name. After all, the whole purpose of this mission is to bring down the Hero League from the inside out. Chimera will have our revenge after Captain Liberty and The Sanguine Puppeteer’s betrayal. We could have ruled the world with the Spore, but they feared its power.”
“I won’t let you undo everything I have worked for!” Shouted Dreamer, shoving the hand away and throwing a right hook into the darkness.
It seethed and reformed, “Poor, poor Dreamer. You need to be more creative than that. Punching? Really now? Best you could come up with? Let me show you a real imagination.”
Bubbling darkness boiled out of the ground, transforming into tendrils. They lashed out wrapping, grasping, writhing around Dreamer. She shuddered in revulsion, fighting the ever tightening grasp. Pain radiated out, fear spilled out like blood and the crazed grin on the shadow only grew. Her laughter rang out as the terrain distorted. Jagged mountains burst from the ground and unspeakable horrors materialized all around.
“I know why you tried to save Vesper, saw yourself in her. Her plight and your own are very similar. Although it was really unbecoming how jealous you are over all the affection that she was showered with. For stealing your friends and turning them against you. Granted, if I saw some slutty bug monster attempting to seduce my husband, I would be mad as well. Although, I suppose none of that was real after all Dreamer never existed until a year ago. They are not your friends, I just made them think you had known them for years. Even after all the trouble she has caused, you still can’t bring yourself to abandon her. It is commendable. Unfortunately, you can’t save her, nor can you save yourself.”
“Please, you can’t,” cried Dreamer weakly.
“Ah, good. Beg, beg more for me. Grovel at my feet and lick my toes.”
Disgusted Dreamer looked away. “I won’t. Just kill me and get this over with.”
“Oh, look at you. Still, have some pride I see. Kill you? Oh no. I would never do that. It is going to be so much fun to break you. You, little Dreamer are going to sit right here, unable to move, unable to die, unable to sleep. You will watch as I tear apart your oh so precious Hero League. I am going to destroy everything that you hold dear. Your friends, the fake family I brainwashed into thinking you were one of them, Sunshine, I certainly missed my pet, and let us not forget Vesper. Oh no, I will save her for last. Assuming, of course, Sub does not beat me to it.”
“What did you… You didn’t!”
“Oh please, it did not take much to coerce that creature. An idle threat, a promise of power. There was so much hatred, sorrow, despair, desire, and revulsion in there. In fact, she was already in there, shattered, scattered. It was a good thing I made her fight you off otherwise, you would have ruined a perfectly good toy. Then again, I would have undone everything you did anyway, but that is neither here nor there. It would have been a mere inconvenience. By now I imagine that she has fully integrated with her unwitting host. You should have killed her when you had the chance instead of having mercy. That is your problem Dreamer, you are too soft. You do not go far enough and it derails all your little schemes to make the world a better place. I wonder if she will choose to keep Vesper alive, locked away much as I am about to do to you or if she will consume her to gain full control. What a wonderful experiment, I can hardly wait for it to come to its conclusion. I do so love corrupting the innocent.”
“You can’t! I won’t let you!” screamed Dreamer drawing on the last of her power.
Light stabbed down from the sky shattering the shadow creatures. The darkness retreated, creating a small patch of colorful ground. Circling like a beast Nightmare sucked in all of the darkness welling up to monstrous proportions. Slowly, her form solidified, a copy of Dreamer save one glaring difference. The mask was not warped, it was whole and unblemished, leaving none of her face exposed. A dark, sinister smile plastered across the front, her cold red eyes glistening as blood flowed down the front in streams of tears. Her mouth opened, revealing the jagged maw of swirling teeth.
Nightmare cackled, “Won’t let me? How funny. What are you going to do to stop me?”
Dreamer drew back her hand and a strange weapon materialized. She pulled the trigger and a beam of light shot through the towering fiend. She toppled cut in half, down the middle, but they reformed and now there were two. Firing again the colorful glare obliterated one and Nightmare screamed. She writhed and trembled in apparent agony. Her cries turned to manic laughter as she held her sides. Dreamer shot the laser again, but it bounced off, streaking harmlessly into the sky.
“Oh, it hurts, it hurts soooo bad. Make it stop, make it stop! Just kidding,” mocked Nightmare, “Ah, the fun we will have together. You know I actually got a few ideas from Sub. Who would have know that little pervert would be so useful? Honestly, I never would have thought of half the crazy shit she does. What to do first, we have all the time in the world. What was her favorite? Tentacles? Although there was that whole eating people thing. Surprised anybody could actually get off on that. How about both, Shall we?”
“Stay away from me, you monster!” yelled Dreamer, forming a door to escape.
The darkness lashed out, shattering the barrier and coiled around her. Dreamer’s hand held tightly to the door before it tore off, hanging limply as she was dragged away. Her teeth grit in pain to the point that one of her teeth broke and she cried as the tentacles pulled her in deeper. Her arms and legs sunk into the inky abyss. Teeth shred through her flesh and bone only to have it regrow and be stripped off once more. Nightmare watched with amusement as the tentacles grew suckers, which housed mouths filled with whirling teeth. They wrapped tightly around Dreamer and her incoherent screams rose desperately. Her body writhed as the blood poured out from between the coils. She wiped her mouth with a blood stained thumb, licking it and shuddering in bliss.
“Yes, that is it. Scream for me. Scream for me until your lungs collapse. Cry for me until your eyes bleed. Let me drink your suffering. Let me feast on your agony. Let me wallow in your despair. Hmm, what was that? Trying to say something? Well, speak up I can’t hear you over your bones crunching.”
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Dreamer gasped as her face was freed, or rather what was left of it, most of it had been eaten, “Why, why do this?!”
Nightmare bent down, kissing her on the forehead, “Why not? You are my toy and I will play with you as I please.”
“No, no, NOOO!” The tentacles stabbed deeper into her form, sucking and draining her. Dreamer screamed into the darkness.
“No one will miss you, no one will even know you are gone. But don’t worry, I will let you see and hear and feel everything as I take over this life that you so carefully cultivated and turn your pretty little dream into your personal nightmare. What to do first? I suppose we should start with our home. Yes, little Tim will be so pleased that mommy came home to play.”
“No, no you can’t. Please, please anything, but that! Leave Tim alone, leave him alone!”
Nightmare licked her lips, “Now, now where would the fun be in that? Oh, Dreamer, he is not even our son. I killed the real Rachel and took her place. After all, we needed a cover and who better than the wife of Bronson’s most famous Hero? Nobody would suspect her of being a member of Chimera. Who do you think we had our face changed to? Your life has been a lie constructed from the raped mind of the real Rachel. Oh, I had sooo much fun with her. All your precious memories, all those joyful moments are nothing, but fabrications. You have been living someone else’s life, so really it is rather poetic that, now you shall watch as I live it for you. After all, it was stolen, to begin with.”
“Brock, Brock will know the difference!” Rachel cried.
Nightmare only smiled, stroking Dreamer’s head, “Ah, yes, Brock Bronson scion of the Bronson family whose ancestors date back to the founding of the city. Of course, everyone knows our friendly neighborhood Fire Chief. You think I can’t impersonate you? What makes you think I have not already? I know everything you do and more, much, much more. Trust me on this, he won’t know the difference, although he will notice a pleasant change. If anything he will like me more. His frigid wife will suddenly rekindle the spark of their romance. You always were reserved in bed. Me on the other hand, well I know my way around the shaft so to speak. Real shame you don’t even swallow. Honestly, if he was not so loyal he would have abandoned you long ago. That little whore Vesper was trying to steal him from us, you know?”
Horror covered her face, “You, no, no, no you wouldn’t.”
“Oh, I already have. On many occasions. You ever wonder what those blank spots in your memory were? It was me taking control. Oh, but don’t worry. I am not going to hurt him, yet anyway. Not while I can use him to torment you. I will let you watch his face twist in delight and feel the beating of his heart quicken and hear his cries of bliss all for a woman who is not you. Ahhh are you crying?” she laughed cruelly.
Dreamer struggled, but she could not cover her face as the tears rolled down. She whimpered weakly, “Just kill me. Please, just kill me. Just get it over with. I don’t want to see that. I don’t want to see anything.”
Nightmare took a deep breath and sighed, “No.”
“Why!?” screamed Rachel.
“Simple my dear. Your agony is my ecstasy.” She wagged her finger and flicked the newly regrown nose, “You see I am not so cruel. You will feel everything that happens to me. Besides, I gave you this life and it is mine to take, so don’t ever say I never gave you anything. Though, it won’t be him doing it to you. It will be your new friends here. Yes, as he thrusts into me, they will force themselves into you. Don’t worry, they will be so affectionate. Who knows you might even come to enjoy it. Oh, but before I forget, about Tim…”
“WHAT! What are you going to do to my-” screamed Dreamer before a tendril slapped over her mouth, cutting her. The maws started chewing and her muffled cries rose up. The hatred in her eyes burned fiercely.
Nightmare smiled wryly, “That is it. Yes, hate me, feed me. That is it, I like that look in your eyes. About Tim, I won’t torture him or anything like that. No, I will give him a mother’s love. Our relationship will be deeper, more intimate than ever before. I am sure he will love the attention. Oh, and you will feel that too.”
Dreamer’s eyebrows raised for a moment, not understanding. That did not sound so bad, how was that going to torture her? It took a few seconds, or maybe minutes, it was hard to tell in here until she realized exactly what it was that Nightmare was implying. Her eyes gaped and she struggled desperately. It hurt, oh dear god did it hurt, as her flesh ripped and her muscles tore. Her little boy, her precious little boy whom she had soiled her hands to protect, to clean up this foul, rotting city so that he would be safe. So that he would have a future. Now this thing, this monster was going to defile the one thing that meant more than life to her. Her thrashing freed her. She flopped down on the ground arm and legless, she did not even care that the mouths happily ate them. Dreamer dragged herself forward with her chin, fueled by pure rage, until she was at Nightmare’s feet. Her teeth bit into the foot in front of her.
“Fuck you! I won’t let you, I won’t let you!” she cried between tearing off mouth fulls and spitting them out.
Her eyes rose when Nightmare’s laughter roared, “You can’t stop me. So weak, so pathetic. Ah, well our fun is just beginning. Now then, the real world is waiting. Enjoy the show.”
“NOOOOOO!” Screamed Dreamer as Nightmare opened the door and stepped through it. She tried desperately to reach it in time, but the darkness bubbled all around her and she sank into the abyss like quicksand.
******
“Dreamer, Dreamer!” cried Panther, his voice hoarse. He slapped her face, “Wake the fuck up, we need you!”
Her listless, cloudy eyes became focused and she blinked. Her hand touched the fresh wound on her head, poking into the bleeding hole. Was not so bad. Could have been worse, could have actually caused some damage rather than knocking her unconscious. She smiled vaguely.
“What is the matter? Are you alright?” asked Captain Metal.
Nightmare replied, “Never better. So tell me what happened after Glitter Kitten escaped?”
“Neon Nurse and the Juniors took off somewhere. Fire Chief took command and is currently evacuating the wounded while keeping the Mad Dogs occupied so that Sweeper can finish his mission.”
“Ah,” she nodded, “Well, forget Glitter Kitten for now. I have something else in mind. While I was in her head, I learned about a secondary stash. We will head there now, Nibbles will be there.”
“Nibbles?” spat Captain Metal, “What the hell are we going to do with a rat?”
“Gerbil,” said Nightmare. “Simple she is going to become our mole.”
“Why her?” asked Panther.
“Well, she is close to Glitter Kitten a lot of the time and has access to sensitive areas. With any luck, she will have been informed of the Boss we are looking for. I know it is some Kraken scum, the problem is who? If not, well then we will still have an inside source of information on their movements. We are in this for the long haul. Slow and steady. Methodical and thorough.”
“Alright, good enough for me.” Said Panther.
“Good, carry me. Oh, Captain Metal go help Fire Chief. I won’t be needing you for this, but he will be needing all the help he can get.”
Metal nodded quickly and took off in the direction of the raging fire that lit up the cold night sky. It looked bad, but nothing Fire Chief could not deal with. She crawled up Panther’s back and he took off. It was so simple when they followed orders. Panther and Metal were naturally already under her control, as was the rest of the Central City Team. She had been keeping a low profile and ensuring that no one suspected the takeover. Everyone thought it was natural for Metal to lose his position after his fuck up with Vesper. Of course, that was her doing, brought it up to Ring Master and made sure that the harshest punishment was dealt out. Speaking of that old bat, a little visit was in store. So much to do, but there was time. Lots and lots of time. Nightmare was patient, she had already waited twenty years for her revenge so what was another few months, maybe a year or two? Besides, she had a host of wonderful new toys to play with to kill time.
Vaguely she could hear the lamentations of Dreamer in her head. ‘Hush now, I have not even started to do anything bad yet.’
They arrived at the destination after a very short duration. Panther’s speed was in prime shape as always. It was an unassuming building, an old auto repair shop that had been abandoned during the outbreak. Boards covered the broken windows and old ratty cloth dangled from bits here and there. They approached the back, fresh earth had been dug up recently just below the door, which was locked from the inside. Panther kicked it down and bolted into the room. Nibbles did not even have time to react before she was pinned against the wall. She snarled and tried to bite Panther, but Nightmare reached out and connected their minds.
“Open your mind to me. Deeper now, deeper, more profoundly. Open the doors and let the walls crumble to dust. Good, good just a little more. Almost there, you can’t resist. We are going to go to the inner core of you. Yes, that glowing ball of your essence. And there we go.” Smirked Nightmare, as her mental claws ripped open a hole in Nibble’s brain.
She shrieked in agony and shook as her nose bled and foam poured out of her mouth. It was a forceful entry, it could be considered mental rape, in fact, by all rights it was. Nibbles pissed herself and every muscle in her body spasmed. Weak. Easy prey. Minutes ticked by as the body trembled, eyes rolling. Her defenses were shattered as Nightmare rewarded her with pleasure for submission. It was a good way to tame someone, stimulating their minds to associate ecstasy to following orders, listening to her voice. If done right, it was as addicting as a drug. This was an old trick she had learned from before she gained her powers. Back when she was just an erotic hypnotist, scraping by to pay for her student loans. That brought back memories, none of which were particularly pleasant. They were pushed aside as she assaulted the poor Gerbil once more. Nightmare smiled to herself, forcing Nibbles into a whirlpool of intoxicating release, she quickly drowned.
“Obey me, obey me, obey me. I am your Mistress, your Goddess. Prostrate yourself before me worm! My words are law, your feeble mind cannot resist. Obey and be rewarded, resist and feel my wrath!”
Nibbles could not think straight as she was bombarded with images and words whispered by voices that slowly shifted tone until they matched her own inner thoughts. It was at this point that she no longer knew what was her own thoughts and what was the invader trying to corrupt her. The fear slowly subsided as the voices reassured her that this was all perfectly fine. They continued on and on conditioning her with repetitive mantras such as, “Obedience is bliss. Empty mind, brain goes pop, can’t stop, not a thought. Mistress knows best. Mistress rewards good pets. Nibbles is a good pet. Nibbles obeys Mistress.”
Nightmare pulled her hand away from the drooling Gerbil girl, “It is done. Isn’t that right pet?”
Nibbles vaguely replied, “Yes, Mistress, Nibbles obeys.”
“Good. Now then pet, you will report to me every week on the activities of Glitter Kitten and to further your conditioning and training. Now I have a question, who is the Boss?”
“I don’t know.”
“Very well. Until I say so act, as though nothing has occurred. This memory of everything that has transpired here will be suppressed unless you hear my voice or are triggered. At that time you will enter a trance and be completely cooperative with me. You will act no differently, but deep inside you know who you must obey. There is no choice. You will know the Trigger when you hear or see it. I have installed a powerful trigger that will make you do a certain task that you will do no matter what. It does not matter if you die attempting it, you will do it. You know exactly what this is and will fulfill it when the time is right.”
“Nibbles obeys Mistress. Nibbles is good pet reward me, reward me.” She cried desperately.
“Rewards are earned pet. Remember that well. Now sleep and forget everything that happened here.”
Nibbles curled up and slept as Nightmare walked away, “Panther our work here is done. Take me back to the headquarters, there is work to do.”
The power to enslave minds, how fun indeed. That was Dreamer’s problem she did not go far enough. She would not sully her own hands to do what must be done. Prey upon the easiest of all desires, sexual. At best Dreamer would try to talk them out of doing bad things. Instead, she went for emotional insecurities, sure, that was a good way too, but not as effective. It was stupid, silly really, building a self-esteem instead of tearing it down. Dreamer set up mental blocks so that they could not use a gun, hesitate if they would take a life, or take away their drug addictions. A waste of her power really, making the world a better place. Sculpting a mind and bending wills was a much better use for it. For rapists, she made it so they could never get hard again. That was a bit cruel, Nightmare thought, then again, it was fun to watch people suffer. Suffering is magic. Ah, to hear their cries of torment, nothing is sweeter. For all the good she tried to do, it was ultimately to no avail. She smirked to herself, hearing the dim protests of Dreamer.
‘Just you watch, I am only beginning. I do hope you enjoy the show.’
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Hope you enjoyed tell me what you think ^^