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[lefthandedsidhe.livejournal.com]

What: Dream to Deal with Maleficent
Who: Margaret/Maleficent, Songbird, Ren, Aya (saving the best for last)
When: evening of March 9
Where: Margaret's house in Mirror Earth and a dream

Margaret watched with more anxiety than pride as her student worked the spell that would bind their dreams into hers. She wondered how this would go. If anyone could do this, surely it would the three of them, but she had doubts. She feared that other part of herself and had trouble dismissing those doubts. Only Sora had ever defeated her other self . . . and that had been in the most physical of ways. But within her own mind, who knew how dangerous Maleficent might be?

She bit her lip, then closed her eyes to lean back. She would have to have faith in the three of them.

All but willing herself to sleep, she finally felt her mind spiraling down into unconsciousness.

Comments

[songbird9.livejournal.com]

The dreamscape that the four of them 'awoke' into was a sandy beach, bathed in the light of sunset. Similar, though not exactly like the beach of Destiny Islands.
The reason for this was that it was not Margaret's dream which had taken shape, but Song's. When she became aware of this, she let the vision fade into formless dream-stuff, balancing the control of it between the four of them.

Then she went about locating the others. Hopefully they could find each other and prepare themselves before Maleficent acted up. If she did.
.... Oh, who was she kidding? Of course Maleficent was the one causing trouble. If the phylactery was any indication, it had to be.

[ryuuzoku-aya.livejournal.com]

Despite the situation, Aya seemed pretty calm. She was anything but worried about the threat of gorgons (being a bit of a mythology fan, she knew how to deal with those) and harpies should they not get back in time. A fully-powered Maleficent was tons more of a problem then a couple of beasties.

Getting Aya into the dreamscape, being one who had outright rejected The Dreaming when the opportunity had presented itself. Though since Aya wasn't rejecting this power, Song does find herself successful, as evidenced by a loud splash in the water. Thrashing followed and the sopping wet woman emerged from the sea moments later. "I guess I need to work on my landings."

[hyperpsyche.livejournal.com]

"So this is what walking through someone's dream is like?" Ren asked as she managed to find her way to the others. "This is so trippy..." With that perfectly astute observation aside, she looked around at the vague landscape and shivered. Something just felt... off, somehow, though it might have just been her imagination.

"Yeah, so how do we do this, anyway?" she asked. She'd always pictured a dream dive as being an exercise in willpower, but she wasn't sure what the proper... etiquette for this situation was, if that was even the right word for it.

[lefthandedsidhe.livejournal.com]

There was no sign of Margaret.

But distantly, as if on the horizon, a shadow loomed, a hint of darkness deeper than the void, ominous and threatening. This might not be a sign of Margaret, but it might very well point to where Maleficent herself might be found.

[songbird9.livejournal.com]

Song covered her mouth to stifle a snicker at Aya's rather unfortunate landing, but any comment she might have had was interrupted by Ren's questions.

"It's simple enough if you don't bog yourself down with your own imagined limitations. This is a lucid dream. Control it any way you like, just like we did in the Dreaming. Now then..." She moved past the other two, facing the dark variation in the distance. "That looks like something worth investigating."
But she hesitated, glancing back at her companions. "... Why don't we practice, since you two haven't done this before? We can get there much faster than walking, but it's up to you to decide how." To demonstrate, the dreamwalker was surrounded suddenly by a flash of light. When it cleared, her form had changed. She was a horse, but no creature of nature. Lean and long-legged, silver-white, she had dreamed herself into a wind spirit. A gallop would take her to the disturbance in no time, provided its creator didn't interfere with her passage.

[ryuuzoku-aya.livejournal.com]

"...really? Seriously? I can lucidly dream it up in here?" Aya questioned as she wrung the salt water out of her ponytail. After a beat, she shook her head and then with a thought she was perfectly dry again. Idly, she brushed a few strands off her shoulder. "Wow, should have dragged Ryan along then."

She watched Song curiously then ran a hand through her hair, pulling out the small rubber band that had been holding it together. Relaxing, she lowered her hands, palms facing upwards, and tilted her head to the sky. "May as well start simple, then." For a long moment, nothing happened save for a small scattering of sandgrains around her feet. Moments later, said feet left the ground.

[hyperpsyche.livejournal.com]

Ren folded her arms over her chest and whistled. "Nice. So if that's the case, then..." She furrowed her brow in concentration and slowly took off her glasses. She blinked a few times as she got used to seeing perfectly well without any aid, then grinned. "Very nice," she said as she tucked her glasses away into a pocket.

"You won't mind if I pick a different way of traveling, do you?" she asked as she turned to the motorcycle that was now beside her. "I've always wanted to ride one of these without worrying about killing myself..."

[songbird9.livejournal.com]

Song simply nodded her equine head affirmatively, somehow giving the impression of a smile as she watched them experiment with the dream. Of course, none of them were entirely omnipotent here. Ren's thought concerning willpower had hit it on the nose, though experience and adaptability played roles as well. If it came down to a struggle, it would be their wills against Maleficent's, and in all honesty, Song couldn't predict how that would turn out.

She didn't say this to them, perhaps because she assumed it would be the natural conclusion they'd come to. For better or worse, she said nothing at all, but only reared and whinnied a battle cry before charging forward. She did hold back at first so that they could catch up. Bolting too far ahead kind of ruined the point of having them with her.

[lefthandedsidhe.livejournal.com]

Closer to the darkness, some shape and form became visible.

There was a forest beneath swirly black mists. The trees partook of the darkness, the normal greens and browns and greys of the woodland, verged on black. No breeze moved the branches. No birds or animals filled the silence. A cool, still mist hung in the air.

[ryuuzoku-aya.livejournal.com]

"I sure don't." Aya grinned as she narrowed her eyes, gazing off into the distance and focusing in on the darkness. After a few seconds, that focus suddenly zipped in further.

She made no move to chase after Songhorse as she took off, silently mentally setting a few things in place, carefully redefining her rules and resetting various boundaries.

A ring of blue light shot out from around the girl and in a second, she was gone, a sonic boom sounding a few more seconds later. After a moment of showing off and looping through the air like a fighter jet, Aya settled floating overhead of the mists before dropping down into them without fear.

She alit on a branch far too small to support her weight without it bending the slightest. She didn't arm herself, not visibly at least, but wass very much on guard as she hopped to the ground proper to wait for the others.

[hyperpsyche.livejournal.com]

"Good to hear. Thanks." Ren took an extra moment to call up a helmet and protective jacket for herself before hopping on the bike--even if this was a dream, old safety habits were hard to break. After a little more time spent figuring out how to get it started, she was zipping along after Song and Aya.

"All that's missing is a kicking soundtrack," Ren said to the others as she pulled up near the mist's borders. Part of it was trying to keep herself psyched up and not out, but hey, mood music rarely hurt, right?

Like Aya, she wasn't carrying any immediately visible weapons, but her pockets were loaded down with Potions and other curatives, just in case.

[songbird9.livejournal.com]

"We'd have one if Ryune was here," the horse that was Song pointed out, amused by Ren's comment. Stay light-hearted, that was the trick. Light-hearted and confident. Fear was more dangerous in a dream than anywhere else. Fear could turn dreams into nightmares.

The mist swirled around Song's legs and seemed to intertwine with her mane and tail as she moved through it, walking forward slowly now with all senses alert for a sign of their quarry. She didn't bother resuming her original form or a more combat-oriented one just yet. For one thing, when it was needed, she was practiced enough to do so quite swiftly. For another, she didn't expect an all-out attack from Maleficent. At least, not immediately.

[lefthandedsidhe.livejournal.com]

Some light still penetrated in the outer reaches of the forest, but deeper in it seemed to get darker and darker, until there was nothing that could be seen.

Just barely within sight, a path leading deeper into the woods could be seen.

There was still no sound, not of wind or anything that lived, and the mist seemed to absorb something of every sound that the travelers made, leaving them with an odd empty tone.

[lefthandedsidhe.livejournal.com]

"You seem to be the ones who want me entirely gone." Maleficent appeared out of the shadows, but did not step into the circle of light. "How am I being unreasonable, taking only a few hours of a life that is just as much mine as hers?" An ironic smile formed on her lips. "The fact that you are afraid of me is hardly a fair reason to deny me this."

[songbird9.livejournal.com]

"You're frightening Margaret, for one. She has every reason to worry that you'll hurt Janet or the children. Ren's right. It would be pointless to ask you to simply vanish, to cease existing as you are, unless you can find contentment in that. However, some arrangement has to be made, or you become our enemy." In some ways, she'd prefer the latter. Then they could find a way to seal her more permanently and be done with it. Of course, the danger of fighting her kept Song from jumping to that option unless it proved the only way. Her hope was that Maleficent and Margaret could merge fully, as Brixon had merged with her Heart, though they'd long disagreed. Given Maleficent's temperment, though, that was unlikely.

"As for the fairness of it, haven't you owned the last few centuries, or however long you've existed? If you speak of taking turns, then you owe Margaret quite a lot of time."

[ryuuzoku-aya.livejournal.com]

"Hey now, I didn't say that." Aya shrugged casually. "But if that's the way you want it..."

[hyperpsyche.livejournal.com]

"Come on, we can still work this out peacefully," Ren pleaded. "We don't want to start a fight..." Fighting back in self-defense was another thing entirely, mind you. "We can still make this a good dream for us all."

[lefthandedsidhe.livejournal.com]

Maleficent's unmistakable laughter rang out. "How deliciously naive."

She considered their words for a moment. "No, no, I shall not go gentle into that dark night. I have fought for my return with every atom of my will, and you are fools if you do not think that I shall keep it!"

[songbird9.livejournal.com]

Song sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Yes well... at least we're trying." She stepped back, closer to Aya and Ren, and lowered her voice though she knew it wouldn't make a difference.
"Do you two have any other ideas? I don't particularly feel like staging a battle of dreams here, but she doesn't seem to want to talk peace."

[ryuuzoku-aya.livejournal.com]

"Well there's always the alternative 'challenge her to a game'" Aya cringed, "...option but I don't think that's a much better idea than fighting her. Of course, we could strike a bargain but I doubt there's anything she wants more than to be in control again, Maraget be damned."

[hyperpsyche.livejournal.com]

"And remember what happened with Mirror Earth?" Ren pointed out. "Whatever bargain we make, she'll find a way to twist it to her advantage. I don't want to fight her either, but..." She trailed off, at a loss for words. "Ugh, there's got to be something we're not thinking of!"

[lefthandedsidhe.livejournal.com]

Maleficent waited watching them with amusement. "It seems you did not really know why you wanted to come here, as you have yet to tell me what you want of me, other than that I accept nothingness, an offer I am hardly likely to accept. Your intention to battle me, or surely you would have brought more than this sad trio . . . a scarred hero, a naive bookworm, and a hopeless dreamer who mourns after the lover who abandoned her twice over. The world is not a tale, you know. An unlikely assemblage of heroes does not guarantee your victory against a more powerful foe." Again the mocking laughter. "Though you seem to have forgotten to bring a dog, some mangy, but lovable mutt. You can never get anywhere without some fluffy animal side-kick, you know." She pauses. "Were you too rushed to bring along Ryan, Aya?"

[songbird9.livejournal.com]

Song failed to hide the wince as Maleficent struck a more sensitive nerve this time, and she couldn't help thinking that some of her points were right. What were they doing here? Why didn't they take the time to plan this out more thoroughly? Song should have been thinking and plotting, not trusting her questionable luck and not-always-quick mind.

Still, she had to do something more. If it dissolved this quickly into combat, she was obviously failing at her self-appointed job. She was losing her touch. Negotiating with villains - to use a blunt term - didn't work so well when you couldn't give them anything they were likely to want.
But... bargaining with fairies... She hoped this wouldn't be a mistake.

"Enough of that. If its a choice between combat and bargaining I'd prefer the bargain. Would you promise not to harm or let any harm come to Janet, her child, and Margaret's, or to the life Margaret has made for herself, and would you give Margaret an equal share of time to control her own body if I could offer you something in return?"

[ryuuzoku-aya.livejournal.com]

"Song, when this is over..." Aya said, her voice low as she ignored Maleficent's personally-directed barbs, "...I am going to beat you over the head with the Dresden Files."

One of her thumbs was hung in the beltloops of her jeans. "Your taunting doesn't scare me here, lady, I'll have you know. You do us a disservice in underestimating us."

[hyperpsyche.livejournal.com]

Ren's lips quirked into a wry grin. "You sure about that dog thing?" she asked. If Maleficent wanted a small, furry animal companion, she knew three that would just love to meet her. Her neighbor's yappy little terriers were vicious, and the rest of the neighborhood had learned long ago to give them and their sharp little teeth a wide berth.

She glanced over at Aya and smirked again. "Steal my shtick, will you?" she muttered teasingly under her breath.

"You're right, Maleficent. This isn't a story. So I'm perfectly capable of looking at and dealing with my flaws on my own time instead of going blank with self-loathing at the most inconvenient possible time. Thank you anyway, though."