The... Truth?

Stretching out, Daiko... Noticed something. He and his teammates were actually... Around 50 meters away from what looked to be a scary cultist building. Looking down in his hands, Daiko noticed that he had a golden-embroidered scroll that had some words on it. Ah, so having all these dreams wasn't just a coincidence. It looked like there was something fishy going on around here... And Daiko was going to get to the bottom of it. Along with... Kikuo, Dana, and Saya, it seemed like they were just the squad for something like this. While they were still far back, Daiko looked at his team and tried to come up with a plan of attack. "So, one thing that I can do." Daiko nodded his head. "I'm pretty decent at... Teleporting, and whatnot. So If it comes down to it we could always get a soft reset if we somehow mess up. That being said, I could also teleport us inside of the building, and we could figure it out from there." Daiko takes this time to open up the scroll for his teammates to see. "It says here that we're supposed to infiltrate this place, without our identities being revealed. Does anyone have any idea what that means?" 

Daiko had a bit of an idea of what it might mean for them to infiltrate, but he wanted to take this time to actually plan out their moves and spend their next moments actually following through with what they needed to do. "I'm imagining we can either sneak inside, or we could try to fashion up some disguises to make us look like cultists. I know that once we get within a decent distance, I could move us instantly inside of the building, and we could bypass security altogether. Saya? Danish? Kiku? Any ideas?" From there, Daiko would take the time to listen to what everyone had to say, and take into consideration what it was exactly that they needed to be able to do in order to make it in without being seen. Daiko knew that there were a couple of nuances that went along with it, and he really needed his partners and teammates to back him up in order for them to do this in one smooth motion. This was their shot. 

[382]

"I mean. I could always Just use nativity to wrap em up and knock em out but..... I mean. " She stopped speaking, a meniacle grin flowing across her features. While there's a long list of things that Saya loves, theres one thing she liked more than everything else. No, not mappo tofu. She does love that, but theres one rule Saya has always followed: never miss an opportunity to dress up. She formed the hand seals for her storage dispalcement, a large black void appearing beside her. Reaching in she'd allow her arm to disappear up to the shoulder. Her body shifted and contorted as if she were trying to find the exact thing she needed, and then all at once she removed an impossibly large rolling luggage rack stacked with clothes.

"So... I had this plan for like. A cool cult idea and AH!!! They're perfect! " Along with other bits of clothing, and a garment bag with masks, wigs, and anything else she could need Saya pulled full robes that due to rediculous plot convenient magic were the exact same as the ones they'd seen worn by the cultists going into the building.

"So. Dana and I can both use nativity to end the guards real quick, we put on these plot convenient robes with some wigs and maybe cool masks so no one will know its us and bing, bang, boom we're in. Any other thoughts? " She would give the group time to continue throwing ideas out. Meanwhile she picked out her outfit carefully. She wore a long fire red wig that was pulled back into pig tails with an inticate tuul face mask to obscure her features. Yes. It wasn't exactly her normal style, but this would do quite nicely.

"If we've figured out the plan, ONe of you count us down and we'll do everything at the same time so they can't cry out. "

(TWC 318)

Well, Dana had absolutely no idea how she'd gotten here again but she was all for it.  The people she was with, they were all similar but... Oh yeah, she'd been having lots of dreams about them all recently. Strange how real this all seemed. Anyway, she was totally all here for whatever this was. They had to infiltrate some building? Hell yeah, Dana was nothing if not incredibly discrete. And there totally wouldn't be any future issues stemming from Dana's inability to hold herself back from destroying everything. Hey, did that guy just call her Danish? That was a cool name, she'd remember that.

It seemed that Dana's friend Saya had a totally amazing and plot-convenient plan that involved them all getting dressed into cult disguises and sneaking in after dispatching the guards outside. Dana was down with this plan, she'd just need to coordinate it with Saya well. Dana could probably dispatch them herself, but the odds of it being done quietly and what-not were slim to none. Dana raised her hand and gave the group a large smile, "I am totally onboard with Saya's plan." Dana offered, unsure if her opinion was needed at this time. Dana wasn't very smart so it probably wasn't a good idea to include her in the planning process.

Dana shifted her gaze from the group over to the building, where she observed something that looked like the changing of the guard. Only instead of swapping over, the new guards just joined with the new so there was now double the guards outside the building. She blinked... That seemed a bit odd. Well, this was a dream after all so arbitrary happenings were par for the course. It looked like they were under some kind of time limit, however. If they took too long to plan then eventually the amount of guards outside would become far too much to deal with quietly.

"We might wanna hurry up." She said absently mindedly, nodding towards the building.

WC: 333

There were quite a bit of plans flying around, in all directions. Daiko wasn't entirely sure of what to make of it, though he had somewhat of a good plan in mind while they were busy chatting with each other. Some seemed to doubt their abilities, and Saya seemed to want to.. Violence. Hmnn. This dream Saya was different than the one that he knew. It was no matter. Slightly shifting his figure, Daiko slowly reaches down to the ground and places his palm on the cool, damp earth before sitting down, taking a moment of quiet contemplation to try and figure out what it would be that they would do next. There wasn't a lot that they could/couldn't do, though realistically Daiko figured that he would be able to get past the guards without having to put on a disguise at all. Although considering that Saya had handily carried some dreamy supplies with them for them to be able to make a little quick-change ensemble type thing, Daiko figured it was better now than never to take advantage of that. Sitting gently, Daiko could feel each individual blade of grass that crept up the bottom of his pant leg, scratching away at his ankle. While the team was discussing, he gently swats it away and pulls his pants a bit lower as to not be bothered by the grass. It was pretty annoying, to be entirely honest. Daiko truly wondered what would be the play from here. He would find out soon. 

So, it had seemed like for the most part people had decided what they wanted to do. Pressing his right hand back onto the grass, Daiko heaves himself up with both his core and the force provided by his palm pushing against the malleable earth. Raising to his feet, Daiko cracks his neck, even though he didn't have any bones. "Alright, so. Saya. I'm cool with dressing up in a little outfit... But.." Daiko straightens his head, looking at the kunoichi in front of him. "I have a pretty good idea how to get in... You don't have to follow my lead if you don't want to, but just know that this is what I'm going to do. I'll make sure to do my best to remain undetected, and I'm sure y'all can manage the same..." Stretching out, Daiko slowly saunters over to where Saya was standing and graciously accepts her offering of a cool little outfit. Straightening it out, Daiko nods his head before tossing it in the air and doing a quick few handseals for Instant Armoire to kick into effect, and have him quickly change into this new outfit. It was pretty sweet. They were ceremonial-looking robes, with different symbols on them that likely had something to do with this evil cult that they were planning on stopping. This would be easier than Daiko imagined, or maybe much worse than he could've hoped. It was no matter. Daiko's outfit was pretty fly before changing into a costume, and now that he had found a perfect fit, he was feeling as fly as ever.

Hmn. The only thing that could possibly make this outfit better would be like. A peg leg, or something of that sort. That would actually be somewhat cool, to be entirely honest. Daiko would find it quite funny for him to be hobbling around, doing this and that while also trying to avoid the inevitable confrontation that they would get at the end of this top secret mission. Daiko wondered what began to cause all these missions. This wasn't the first time that he had run into these Kiri ninja whilst dreaming, and he wondered if this mission had something to do with stopping it. Even though he was having the time of his life vibing out and doing his thing, Daiko figured that there were some people that actually got harmed and terrified, perhaps even dying in there dreams. That was scary. Daiko wasn't really worried about potential death from dreams, though at the same time he didn't find it too annoying either. It would be relaxing, at the very least, to know that in the future the dreams that he has weren't being controlled by some evil thing. That would be.. Ideal. Not just for the people involved in this mission here, but also for all the shinobi and kunoichi that's voices are silenced by the toll of nightmares that cannot be escaped... Without death. The more Daiko continued to think, the more he thought about creating jutsu that could somehow emulate this feeling in people wherever he went. Oh well. Hopefully he wouldn't forget that. 

Getting ready to start pushing things into action, Daiko stretches his arms out above his head, and begins to put his plan into motion. Walking very slowly and methodically, Daiko lets each pad of his foot gently grace the ground as he makes his way to a potential spot where he might be able to enter this hideout through teleportation. Though he could still see fine, Daiko's hood was low on his face, as to not only conceal his identity but also to make sure that anyone that would pass by wouldn't see him as out of the usual from the other creaturelings mulling about. This was ideal. Daiko was pretty sure that getting in would be the hard part, so he made sure to put the most thought into this very moment. There were several windows.. And it seemed to be that there were multiple floors. Daiko wasn't entirely sure what to expect at this very moment, though... It would make sense if... The ritual was going on in a basement or something? That would make the most sense to him, to be entirely honest, though in his opinion, that wouldn't make a lot of sense given the context. There were spooky clouds and whatnot all strewn about, along with other minor details that made Daiko have the feeling that he needed to go to the top. Though he was sure each of his movements was clean and calculated, he still felt like he was forgetting something.

Gearing himself into his uhh.. Ready position... Which, for Daiko, was simply him just walking as he usually did, this time now within 15 meters of the window on the bottom that would lead him to victory, he quickly checks his surroundings to make sure that there was nobody watching him. It seemed like the two people watching the front gate were more concerned with seeing who was coming in through the front doors, rather than who would be able to get in through other methods. This didn't really bother Daiko, considering. Taking a quick moment, Daiko peeks at a few different angles into the windows to see if there was anything that might catch his quick movement when he was able to make it to where he wanted to go... No, it didn't look like it. Taking a deep breath, Daiko takes a single step forward, and while taking the step, a small mass of chakra about a cm wide begins to overtake his body, shooting in all directions to envelop him fully, before a small blip of light replaced where he was currently standing, and he was inside of the building. That was easy enough. Checking around for a moment, Daiko doesn't see anyone within his eyes reach, and he took a moment to admire the furniture that was here. There were many different things... Some looked to be antiques, others looked to be... Recently created. It wasn't recent because it used some tacky faux leather, it was more recent because... The flayyed flesh that had been used for upholstery had not yet begun to rot. 

Daiko wondered for a second if other people have found themselves in this same building and... weren't as lucky when it came to making it to the top and completing the mission. He wasn't entirely sure, though... The furniture had a smell that was slightly off putting. There were decorations all around, some being loveseats and chairs with intricate patterns and textures carved into the flesh of what looked like to be man, as well as several faces hanging from walls. Oh shit, this is something that Daik could potentially want. He thought about what he did to poor Rokumo's face and.. Well.. He figured that these people had the same idea. Maybe they were just like him. And then again, maybe not. Either way, keeps his head straight and his hood down as he looked around. Oh, it looked like there were Pinterest DIY projects that involved cooking the marrow out of people's bones, and putting small self-contained lights inside of them, so they would glow from the inside out. This LED Daiko to believe that they were perhaps more crafty than they appeared... He would have to keep that in mind. Nothing was more dangerous than an enemy that knew its way around arts and crafts... Other than, of course, people who actually knew their way around battle. What a shame, it would be. Daiko knew that he wouldn't be able to make cute little arts and crafts like this. Oh! There was even a little mason jar filled with decorative teeth! How wonderful.

From far off in a hallway, Daiko heard the low grumbling of someone with a very exaggerated accent. It sounded like.. A vampire. Huh. Daiko truly didn't have the background in pop culture to understand what a vampire was, nor what the accent would sound like, but it sounded like whoever was talking from far away really SUCKED. Hah. Either way, Daiko found his way to another hallway, which he believed would somehow lead to a staircase. Why he decided to run down a random hallway would be a mystery to everyone, though honestly, it felt like the best move. Once he made it to his particular hallway, there was a lot to be seen. Well.. Not really. They seemed to just be stock photos of what a scary hallway would look like, and Daiko was very consciously walking down the hallways, avoiding the dragged paths of blood that were likely where sacrifices were given to the vampires. Can't have them getting hungry, now. As he moves on, Daiko puts his hands together so that the robe looks like he was just a peon heading to do something. On his way, he saw several doors and other such things, some with flashing lights going on behind them, and others with like. Spooky red liquid coming out of them. Daiko didn't know that blood existed in a PG13 universe, though once again, he didn't have the point of reference in order to make that inference. He has killed people, anyways so. This was nothing really new to him. 

As he carried on his way, Daiko noticed that there seemed to be some other kind of staircase. This would make things pretty easy. Moving his way towards them, Daiko checks the banister to see if there are any tricks. Considering all the vampires that had been dancing around, it was likely to think that the person up top was either Home Alone, or Home Alone 2 a point where they would feel the need to leave pitfalls and other such traps just in case an intruder had made it past the defense. Oh, it seemed like someone had put a sticky substance on the rails... It looked to be... Daiko decided not to try and figure out what it was, and just not touch the banister altogether. That shit was nasty. Carefully stepping up, Daiko does his best to look like how a stereotypical cult member would look, heading up very slowly. Daiko was sure that everyone would be repulsed because he hid in his hood like he had joined the cult. More than just acting, Daiko took a moment to let the atmosphere breathe a stench of death into his very presence, looking as if he was truly a member of this cult, and his full identity wouldn't be revealed. If he had found his friends, he would likely say hello and try to appear like he wasn't thinking about just like. Sacrificing some of the peons of the cult just to see what would happen. Oh well.

[2056]
{2438}

[750/750] The Truth Behind the Nightmares Part One: Infiltration
[1000/1000] The Truth Behind the Nightmares Part Two: Evasion

"Excelent. I really wish that one of yall also had wood style. If daiko ever like. Found the ability to use mokuton chakra to form jutsu then just THINK of the power we could wield as a team!!!! It would be actually the coolest. Super shame that doesn't seem like something that could ever be possible though." She waxed poetically on the power of her and dana's bloodline in the hands of an outsider, taking several minutes to seriously consider how incredible it would make their teamwork despite the impossibility. I mean its not like over a month after this was taking place Daiko would have found the hearts to learn both earth and water, implanted them, gotten an organ from some senju who was in their party at current and didn't mind sharing pieces of her body with people for money, and then went on a whole spree studying jutsu from the two senju girls in order to also be able to wield the terrifying power of the senjuc clan. That would be rediculous! yes, This is of course, foreshadowing. 



She would wait for her friends to get into position. She figured there was definitely something the two space time users could do to help out. Like a magic fuck you circle that does damage or something? THe more she thought about it, the more she realized that having let her big sister borow the coach puppet was putting a serious damper on her effectiveness, specifically dealing with being able to take care of enemies non lethally. There was just something satisfying about being able to scoop someone up in a wooden puppet and shoot fireworks at them until they pass out. It also helps incredibly in disposing of the unconscious victims. Just keep em inside the puppet until theres a place to put em and boom. Easy peasy. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed her friend disappear until it was too late. 



"Wh. Where did kiku go?! Is she off starting things without us? Did i zone out so bad that I missed something?" Shortly after her question, Kiku began to speak. That was really cool. Apparently she could make herself disappear?! pretty convenient if you asked Saya. THinking about it, she'd seen this before. There was that one ninja. He also used puppets so Saya taught him how to make a pinochio. Then he fought against Ai and Ai totally broke his hand immediately at the begining of the spar. What was his name.... 



"Nemo has that I think. Nemo? Was that his name... That sounds right. OK. So you sneak off and take care of this thing and We'll strike with our ninjutsu!" Her allies were growing into powerful ninja. Meanwhile she had been stagnant for quite some time. She figured maybe she was close to being chuunin in power level, or C rank she would call it for ease, but with time passed there was no way her team hadn't soared past her. It was a shame that there wasn't someone in the village who knew more than she did who could give her a rank based on her current level of strength. Someone with a great sense of style and a really cool triangular hat. This is also foreshadowing. 



At the signal, Saya would form the seals for her Nativity of a sea of trees, Sneaking close to the guards that they needed to dispach of until she was within five meters. Great oak trees ripped from the ground, Rising up with thick roots that wrapped around the enemies, squeezing them until their bodies went limp. Then the branches just deposeded the knocked out shinobi behind a dumpster in a dark alleyway before carrying Saya back tot he team. 



"Alright. SO. Let's get inside, put on the robes, and then try to figure out what the heck we're supposed to do! No wait. Flip that. We put on the robes and wigs and then we go inside. " She flipped out her pop up changing screen, slipping behind it before realizing she could just put the robes over her clothes. That made sense. She slid the large article over her shoulders, fastening it to hide her ninja look, and then stepped back out. "Right. Lets do this." Stepping inside she'd look around. Why was this place so big?! Thankfully there were no people in direct sight. 



"So. I dunno about yall, but I feel like it would probably be easiest if we split up. Agreed agreed agreed? I'll go this way, yall pick a direction, and we'll just look for anything or anyone that could lead us to the bottom of all this. " 



She would assume that Dana Daiko and Kiku agreed with her plan. It was a serious problem she had sometimes. If she had to actually consider her flaws, One of the greatest was her inability to sit still. Usually it was tempered by her puppets, who worked as the voice of experience for her direct group, but they'd been oddly silent. SHE LEFT THEM OUTSIDE!!!!! Saya was so focused on the task at hand, that she'd forgotten the whole actually bringing her teammates into the building with her. THankfully thta was an easy fix. She reoppened the door, motioning for the Freyja and Ai puppet to enter, and then gave a nod. 



"Little sister.... You left us outside. You do realize that we can't actually keep watch right? We don't have eyes that can see, despite how effectively they look it." Ai gave a gentle bit of reprimanding to her sister. It was important that she stay on task. What she needed was a higher up to give her incentive to actually focus on what she was supposed to be doing. maybe that would even help her stop causing trouble? She doubted it. 



"Yes. It is not terribly helpful having us so far from you Sayatria.... Remember we are your ace in the hole if something happens. Your ninjutsu is a powerful tool, but the strength of the old gods runs thorugh your viens, and I am their voice..." That was still such a wierd thing to hear. How could she have the blood of gods in her veins?! SHe'd never gotten a transfusion. It was probably a metaphor because the Goddess freyja came to her in her dreams. That along with her meeting the Otterbrook clan, whose power was gifted to her almost immediately upon hearing what had happened meant that she was a sort of chosen of the gods, or at least of Freyja. Reaching into her pocket, Her thumb rubbed across the T shaped charm hidden from view. Intricate carvings on the bone necklace helped to keep her focus  when she was stressed. ONe day she might actually wear it openly, but that wasn't today. 



"Right right. Sorry. WE have to figure out where we're supposed to go to stop all this stuff. Would yall mind coming with me and taking a look around? The whole team has kind of picked a direction and headed that way so we could find what we're looking for easier. " Saya leaned against the wall as she spoke, hoping that her puppets would understand the importance. As usual, It didn't even register to her that they held her own undestanding. They knew what was going on, and the importance so there was very little chance that they would suddenly be against the idea. 



"Of course Aya. We have to figure out what has happened so we can get back home and to safety. " IN emphasis, the freyja puppet just nodded. She imagined that Coach would have some sort of encouraging sign were he around to take part. She only hoped that whatever Ai was into, he was looking after her while Saya couldn't. 



The layout of the building was obnoxious to say the least. It was just a string of long hallways with tons of doors on the left and right. At the very end of the hallways was a large black door with a symbol she vaguely recognized drawn in what appeared to be blood. It picked at the back of her mind that she'd seen that symbol somewhere. Where had she seen it?! As she stepped into the hallway, this is where the camera would pan out to the same symbol emblazoned on the back of her cloak. THere is a big difference between being smart and being perceptive. 



"Check doors. Im sure what we need is either in one of these, or theres clues that can tell us in there at least. Just if you see something, Call out." She was already standing in front of the first doorway when she turned back, hearing the voices of her puppets. 



"We can't see things Aya. You know that"

"We can't see things Sayatria. You know this" 



The two spoke in perfect unison, though there was a small variation in their word choice, and the tone was quite different. 



What came next was super boring, and I as your favorite omniscient narrator should tell you that while it's monotonous and unintriguing, It is as always my job to tell the story in its fullest. It took them at least twenty minutes to go through each of the doors one by one. The first door was a broom closet. When she opened it there was a spray of dust that brought a string of coughs to the tiny girl. Looking about there was exactly what you would expect: cleaning supplies, mops brooms, a singular dust pan, and a half eaten turkey on rye that had gone green and withered from age. 



"OOh lunch!" Before she could even reach out for the sandwhich there was a chorus of no's from the two puppets. SHe didn't not taste the forbidden lunch meat. 



The next four doors were also broom closets. That's wierd. Each time there was a spray of dust, coughing from Saya, and a dialogue scene between her and the puppets where she found a sandwhich she wanted to try, only to be told that she wasn't allowed. In the fifth Door things shifted drastically. Instead of a broom closet with a turkey sandwhich on rye, this room was a broom closet with a ham sandwhich on pumpernickel. Everything else was the same though. 



"It looks like all of these rooms are the same? That's wierd right? I mean. The whole waking up in a strange land with all kinds of bad stuff happening thing is super wierd in and of itself but does this seem extra wierd to anyone?! " The two puppets  nodded. They were getting absolutely nowhere. 



"Sayatria. maybe we should skip to the door at the end? It has that same wierd symbol you all have on your cloaks. maybe it won't be a broom closet." Freyja was, as always, the shining light of helpfulness. She'd solved the problem That had taken so long for saya to fail at in one sentence. 



"ITS FROM THE CLOAKS!!!! Thats where I'd seen that before. Oh. Also yea I suppose that makes sense. Let's check that door. " 

They stepped up, calling out to their team if they didn't happen to find another door that through the power of rp magic just happens to go to the exact same place as this one. Opening it she would choke at the site before her. 

It was... SOme sort of ritual room? There were like a bunch of people in the cult robes circling around a big circle that pulsed with arcane power. Arcane? That's not right. Magic isn't real right?! Real or not, she was certain there was some sort of power that was increasing in potency the more they chanted. That needed to be fixed. 

"Hey guys. We should uh. We should probably stop this. Doesn't look great if i'm being honest. Might have to beat em up real good so we can fix whatever they have going on? " 

(TWC 2318

750 for 1st complete, 1k for 2nd complete 568/1250 for final mission complete)

Dana really didn’t know what the deal with all these different plans was - her small brain could only take so much -  so she stood and waited for the others to sort things out amongst themselves. Dana, whilst waiting, started up at the weird dreamscape sky with a big smile on her face as she imagined what it’d be like to fly. Having wings sounded like it’d be an incredible experience. Maybe she could shift her focus from bringing back friends from the dead, into developing a method of flight. Actually no, that was a horrible idea. Dana was a true businesswoman and the ability to bring people back from the dead was definitely a moneymaker. Was profiting off of other people’s mourning and devastation a scummy move? Most certainly. Then again, so were most business practices.

Since the author behind the veil has absolutely no idea how the group were going to get into the building, let’s just say that Dana did her own really super cool thing that involved lots of stealth and subterfuge. Maybe it was a lot of Jutsu being fired in tandem with her team to take out the large group of guards, or maybe Dana just went through with Saya’s costume plan. Who could say at this juncture. All that mattered was that Dana went through with the bestest plan and ended up in the building without alerting any of the guards. She’d also somehow gotten split up from her team in the process but, like the plan, Dana had absolutely no idea how this had happened so she just went with it.

Well, it looked like she was on her own now! Dana inhaled briefly and, with a large exuberant grin, began searching around the room she was in for any clues. She still had absolutely no clue where she was, or how she had got here, but she knew that she was with her team. They were in the building to try and find... Something. Dana wasn't entirely sure what that something was, but she was looking nonetheless. Casting her mind back, the mission brief appeared in her thoughts clear as day. They had to look for some kind of mark, and the building was apparently being guarded by... Vampires? How exciting!

Dana skipped up to a dusty table in the corner and blew on it, revealing a checkered pattern engraved onto the surface. She tilted her head with confusion, brows furrowing. What did that mean? Did the chessboard even mean anything? Or was it just something for the vampires to do to pass the time? Dana imagined that - as ageless beings - they had a lot of spare time on their hands. They probably practiced a lot so their playstyle was probably completely inscrutable to the average mortal being like herself. She'd like to watch one of those games if she could. Dana wasn't very good at chess, but watching two grandmasters would probably help her improve by leaps and bounds.

She was broken from her thoughts at the sound of a latch opening. She whirled around, white hair flying everywhere, just in time to see the door she'd originally entered the room through start to open. Well, Dana wasn't scared of a little scrap but she didn't want to ruin the stealth aspect of the mission for the rest of the team. Using her quick ninja reflexes, Dana leaped up onto the ceiling and clung to it with her two hands on feet, defying gravity with moderate use of the Surface Walking Technique.

Just in time, too. Dana breathed a small sigh of relief as two pale-looking men in long cloaks entered the room with a gait that was almost similar to the Senju's own. At odds with their haughty attire, a large smile was on either of their faces. Dana narrowed her eyes and spotted the signature fangs amidst the smiling men's teeth. Her suspicions confirmed, Dana began to slowly crawl across the ceiling towards the open door. She'd never been so quiet in her life, moving so slowly that even the large ruffled cloak on her torso didn't make a sound. She moved an inch at a time, and thus got to be privy to the conversation between the two immortal beings.

"... And then, and then..." One said - Dana named him "Righty" in her head because his right fang was slightly longer than the left - as he doubled over laughing, "He says to me 'AAAAAAA, DON'T SUCK MY BLOOD YOU FILTHY CREATURE! TAKE MY WIFE INSTEAD!'"

They both start to howl with laughter at some kind of joke Dana didn't understand as they make their way to the chessboard she had uncovered earlier. In spite of herself, Dana stopped the process of exiting the room to watch the vampires sit down and begin pulling out chess pieces. Curiosity killed the cat, as they say, and Dana couldn't help but start to make her way back towards the chessboard. Was this risky? Yes. Was she worried? Not really.

Righty made the first move and sat back in his chair with a smug grin as he looked back at his opponent. Dana shifted slightly to get a better look at the other guy's reaction but, unfortunately, she made a bit of a clumsy step and ended up making a tiny tap on the ceiling. That was enough, apparently, as Righty's opponent looked up right up towards Dana’s location on the ceiling. The moment he did, all hell broke loose.

Except it didn't, because Dana was a sneaky ninja and in the mere moments after making the noise she had somehow managed to maneuver herself onto an incredibly thin light fixture to fully hide from the vampire's beady eyes. She held her breath, not moving an inch as the vampire refused to lower his gaze. Dana wasn't scared, at all, but she didn't want to ruin the whole mission for all her comrades. She'd managed to actually grow quite fond of the small group over all these weird dream missions, and she'd hate to lose any friends after all this time she’d spent with them.

After what felt like hours of staying as still as possible, the vampire finally stopped searching for her and returned back to the game of chess with his… Friend? Companion? Dana didn’t really know what vampires called themselves in small groups. Maybe it was called a colony or something? Nonetheless, she wasn't out of the woods just yet. She still needed to get out of this fecking room with all the stupid smelly vampires in it. Why had she decided to stay? For possibly the first time in her life, Dana thought that maybe her impulsive nature should really be turned down a notch. It sure was a shame that she wouldn’t remember this dream and thus, would never learn her lesson.

Getting out of the room turned out to actually be quite easy, and Dana soon found herself in a long empty corridor with dozens of doors spaced evenly along the walls. “Feck sake, am I really going to have to search through every single one of these doors?” She cursed quietly, shaking her head and pouting cause life was just sooo unfair. Why couldn’t she just have a friend with her? Who thought it was a good idea to split up to do all this? She ran her hands slowly down her face and then gave her cheeks a quick slap to wake her up a bit. It was time to go!

The very first door that Dana opened gave way to a room made of literal blood. That wasn’t being metaphorical either. The walls, floor, ceiling (somehow) were all just magically floating rivers of blood. The Senju blinked and scratched her chin curiously, wondering what the actual point of this room was. What did it accomplish? Did vampires just come in here to feast from the walls? Wait, no, that sounded weird. What could it be used for, then? Once again, curiosity took a hold of Dana and she decided to take a step inside.

The first thought that came to mind, after the first step, was ‘gross’. At least it should’ve been had Dana had a normal mindset. As anyone following Dana’s wacky hijinks through Kiri would know, Dana was as far from normal as one could be. So, when she stepped into the room and sunk calf-deep into the water her green eyes widened. Not in shock - or horror - but in fascination. “Sick!” Her nose crinkled as she raised her foot to take another step and encountered some resistance from the viscous liquid. It was so… Icky... And cool! Maybe it had been a bad idea to decide to wear sandals on this day, though.

Dana decided to experiment and jump to see how the floor would react. Surprisingly, it held remarkably. Dana couldn’t figure out what the floor was made of since it had the bizarre property of being both bouncy and hard, but it sure was fun to walk on. Actually, Dana couldn’t imagine magical chakra blood feeling like anything else if she thought about it really hard. Well, it didn’t look like anything important was in here so she should probably move on to the next room. She stepped up to the door and paused to look back at the room.

“I rate ye about 7/10, Mr. Room. Very fun but not very useful, I’m afraid.” She said completely seriously and then bid it adieu with a small salute and exited.

Back in the hallway, Dana couldn’t help but notice that the air seemed… Different now. She could taste the smells in the air, for lack of a better description. Her body felt stronger, too. Pale brows furrowed in confusion as the small Senju looked around and discovered that she was almost half a foot taller, and her body felt much stronger as well. Suspecting she knew how this had happened, Dana licked her incisors and discovered that they were now an inch longer than they were supposed to be… Somehow, going into that room and jumping around for a bit had managed to turn Dana into a vampire. Well, that certainly wasn’t really ideal but Dana could deal with it. She could see that her hair had turned black as well.

With her newfound strength and agility, the young girl sped down the hallway in a blur, moving so fast that all the doors on either side of her blurred into one. She almost whooped for joy and even got to the point where sound was beginning to emanate from her throat, but with her new superior vampire reflexes she managed to slam a hand down over her mouth to muffle the cheer for joy. Wow, this was great! Dana really didn’t know why she was thinking that her choice to go bounce around in a room made of blood was a bad idea.

Very quickly, Dana darted in and out of all the rooms to check on every single one. A kitchen filled with meat of a questionable origin, a banquet hall, a boutique and even a vampire equivalent to McDonalds called “Vampdonalds”. That one almost made the aloof Senju do a double take, but she decided that she’d wasted enough time watching vampires play chess and then turn into one herself so she went straight past it. Eventually, however, Dana possibly found what she was looking for. The brief in her mind had just mentioned a ‘symbol’ without actually giving a description of what this seal actually looked like, It was a staircase though, and had some sticky stuff on it. There was also a cultist who looked suspiciously like Dana’s teammate Daiko.

“Yo,” She said to the cultist traversing the staircase. If he turned around to look at her, he’d see that Dana was now half a foot taller, had black hair, thick sharp fingernails and had alarmingly long teeth. The lower half of her legs were also absolutely soaked in blood, for some reason.

WC: 2018
TWC: 2351

They made it in! The power team. It seemed that somehow through plot magic, they had all made it to where they needed to be all at around the same time and... Saya was right. There was something going on that they probably should stop. Daiko glanced around at all the little artifacts in the room. Just like in the other level, there were bits and baubles all strewn around and they seemed to have some sort of significance to the cult in one way or another. To be entirely honest, it seemed like even these ones had a keen sense of decorating that Daiko would never be able to bring himself to understand. The flesh-lined skulls and sinewy bits of flesh strewn around the room was enough proof that something evil was going on here, and the fact that there were a bunch of people doing what looked to be a ritual around one big masked baddy definitely proved that point. Wait... Daiko, this entire time, had thought that the sacrifices were all meant to be given to the different vampires that were apparently running all around. Checking for a moment, Daiko noticed that none of his teammates had any weird bite marks on their neck or anything of that sort. Good, good. Stretching out, Daiko glances around to see what else there might be of note. Nothing? Well, okay. Daiko would trust in his teammates instincts that attacking this dude in the center would yield the best results. 

It was time. While Daiko was gearing up to defeat this guy, he looked to his teammates to see what they would do. "Okay, lets smack the fuck out of this guy. It'll be no issue. So, I'm gonna make it so that nobody can move, and I need you guys to hammer him with everything that you've got." Nodding his head, Daiko quickly forms handseals, much to the surprise of the cultists, who for some reason didn't notice them at all. Daiko did the handseals that were required in order for him to use Singularity, which would put insane pressure on all of the cultists and cause them to not be able to move. There was no way that they were going to make it out of this alive. With the massive field of gravity crushing down on these people, Daiko turned to his teammates, waiting to see what they would do. Daiko had a feeling that they would do some awesome stuff, and make his single stunning technique look like nothing in comparison. "They're being crushed down... They can't move. Let's fuck 'em up." Daiko nodded his head, and continued to weave handseals, sending a warping ball of space time chakra at them, which would expand and begin to rip them apart. Daiko also had many other tricks up his sleeve, but he was waiting to see what his teammates would be able to accomplish. 

After all of the creatures and critters were dead, Daiko wipes his brow from the sweat that had been building up. Taking off his cultist uniform, Daiko cracks his neck, and motioned for everyone to gather around him. "Alright, it looks like we got this. Easy." Nodding his head, Daiko stretches out and prepares to teleport everyone out of there. "Grab tight.. And here we g--" Just then, Daiko woke up, and shot up out of bed. What the fuck.. Okay, this dream was probably the most vivid out of all of them, though he had a particular feeling that this would probably be the last time that he had dreams like that. At least, that was his hope. 

[Exit]

[606]
{3044}

25% Max Stats Discount
[1875/1875] Activation Shift A
[1480] + [585] = [2065/2065] Imitation Black Hole
[450] + [300] = [750/750] Chakra Absorption
[280/1875] Rashomon
4 words discarded

The Truth Behind the Nightmares Part One: [750/750] 6000 Ryo, 30 AP, 8 Tickets
The Truth Behind the Nightmares Part Two: [1000/1000] 10,000 Ryo, 50 AP, 10 Tickets
The Truth Behind the Nightmares Part Three: [1250/1250] 12,500 Ryo, 63 AP, 12 Tickets, 1 Golden Ticket

Totals -- 
28,500 Ryo
143 AP (Converted to Ryo, 143 x 50 = 7150 Ryo. Discarding 150 for an even number.)
30 Tickets

Final Totals -- 
28,500 + 7000 = 35,500 Ryo
30 Tickets