Welcome Home [Event-Halloween]

The group made more progress, for whatever strange definition of that word applied in this twisting and chaotic landscape. More nightmares attacked and were summarily dispatched without difficulty. The issue began when Yukio stopped killing the mindless creatures due to some strange sense, as if there were an itch on the back of his neck. It felt like he was being watched. As he peered about their environment, he noticed a shape – always on the edge of his vision. It started blurry at first, amorphous and nearly indistinguishable from the black fog always around them, but as they killed more and more of the nightmares, suddenly a form started taking shape. What were clearly eyes, red as blood and glowing, watched Yukio as he moved. Now the sensation of creeping gooseflesh erupted over his entire body, as the more primal parts of Yukio’s brain began to tell him that a predator was nearby. Something was hunting them, and the more they defended themselves the closer it appeared to be getting.

”Has anyone else seen the strange form in the corner of your eyes? Always present, watching and potentially getting stronger as we kill these nightmares?” Yukio called out to his teammates as he slew even more of the attacking creatures. ”I think something big is coming, and I don’t think its particularly friendly.” By now the upper half of the humanoid, and it was definitely human in shape, with a clear head, shoulders, arms, and abdomen, had formed and the malice pouring from it was a physical feeling. This being hated him, Yukio specifically, and the Senju wasn’t quite sure how to take that. Almost as if it were the anti-thesis of himself, like one could not live while the other did.

The party continued forward, for there was nothing else they could truly do. There seemed to be no way for them to interact with this strange shadow being and they couldn’t just let the nightmares tear them to pieces. He lost track of himself in the mindless slaughter, simply moving from one kill to the next in a mechanical need to survive. Before Yukio knew it, the shadow-man had nearly fully formed, and features began to be visible on his face. He stopped in a momentary lull in the battle and stared out of the corner of his eye at the being, shock written on his face which could be clearly seen by all. The shadow being…it was him.

A bell tolled in the distance, and the nightmares ceased their attacks, fleeing from the battlefield as if something far worse was coming. It struck a second time and the air seemed to still around them. A third time and silence wrapped around them like a blanket, making even speech a daunting task. A fourth and final chime sounded, and out of the fog strode four creatures, all shadow versions of their current forms. As he watched his doppelganger, a vicious smile formed on the being’s face as they made eye contact and Yukio noticed something particularly disturbing.

It had far too many teeth.

---

WC: 515 | TWC: 1,871 | TMWC: 7,411

The group continued on, battling wave after wave of these nightmare beasts. Asami couldn't help but notice, however, that the further they traveled, the bigger and nastier the beasts seemed to become. Some of them looked they may have once been human, but were now contorted beyond recognition. And some would normally seem harmless, unless they were twenty meters tall and on a warpath, like the clown that now charged at the group, swinging its mighty claws and gnashing it's sharp, yellowed teeth. Kurai did her best to keep it at bay with her arrows, but Asami would need to take a more personal approach.

Gripping her katana, Asami raised the hilt to her shoulder, holding the blade level with her target. Her eyes honed in, and then in one sudden rush, she closed the space between her and the giant clown, thrusting her blade with practiced precision deep into the soft gap beneath the kneecap - it's leg alone was twice Asami's height - and crippled it, causing it to roar in rage and fall down to the ground. Taking this opportunity, Asami gathered chakra in the soles of her feet, running up the length of the clown's body while she lifted her sword, a veil of visible chakra flowing down her blade before she unleashed her arm and sliced cleanly through the clown's neck. Asami quickly kicked off into a backflip to dismount, landing gently ten meters away while the clown's head toppled onto the ground, it's body soon following suit and crumpling in on itself before slowly fading into the surrounding mists.

Asami flicked her blade to one side, though the thing didn't seem to have the blood necessary to dirty her blade, and sheathed it with a steady motion. She did have an unsettling feeling... as though she were being watched. Shadows swirled on the edges of her vision, but as her eyes flicked toward them, they seemed to vanish. 'Elusive, are we,' she mused, as the veins around her eyes began to bulge, her vision expanding outward in 360 degrees. Whatever was lurking in the shadows, it wouldn't be able to hide from the power of her bloodline.

As the field of her vision expanded, Asami stood still in shock. The shadows were alive, shifting and morphing in real time, filled with dozens and dozens of glinting, sinister eyes, eyes that hunted, eyes that hungered. And they were encroaching on the group quickly. "Don't drop your guard," she warned the group, her hand closing on the handle of her katana in preparation. "It's coming."

No sooner had she spoken, than the shadows had begun coalescing in front of them, taking humanoid shapes... there seemed to be one for each of them as they approached, and as the shadows completed their transformation, Asami was faced with a disturbing reality. One of the shadows had her face. Veins bulged around her doppelgänger's eyes, the very image of Asami's active Byakugan, but the sclera surrounding the pale white iris was black as tar. Asami watched the face in front of her contort into a sickening smile, a foul black liquid streaming from its eyes like a river of tainted tears. Asami's grip tightened on her katana, her knuckles white as bone.

'Am I meant to fight that... thing,' she thought, and to her dismay the doppelgänger's grin only grew more twisted, as if it could hear her thoughts. As it stood there, Asami noticed a black mass form near one of its hands, one that stretched outward until it took the shape of a long katana, it's dark blade oozing with sinister chakra. Then, it attacked. Asami almost didn't see it for how quickly it moved, as if it had simply vanished and reappeared a meter in front of her, thrusting it's dark blade straight for Asami's heart. The real Asami only had a fraction of a second to react, shifting just enough that the blade instead sliced through the fabric covering her upper arm, a searing pain erupting across her skin that let her know that she had been cut. She winced and quickly clasped a hand over the wound. It felt warm and sticky, and when she pulled her hand away, it was stained red with blood. This injury was very real, despite the dreamland that they traveled through. "I thought you couldn't be hurt in your dreams," she muttered, her gaze fixating on her dark form once more, her hand slowly drawing out her blade and readying it in front of her body.

The real fight was about to begin.
______________________________________
WC: 765 | TWC: 1,913 | TMWC: 8,176/15,500

As the group formed up and continued their onslaught of the beasts and creatures and monsters, Kurai felt the child's body of herself wane in thought as she resided within it. The shadow clones of Kurai were swept away in the pursuit of retreating entities that plagued them. As Asami and Yukio's voices rang out, she could barely hear her squadmates as the four seemed to have triggered or met another criteria for whatever was going on to give them something worse to worry about. As she looked towards her allies, she could make out their silhouettes and that of another set of them however they were not them. That was when Kurai turned to face the threat and problem in front of her as she faced herself. It was not her adult form no, it was the form she was currently in, the child form from her traumatic years. Facing oneself was a daunting task but facing your innocent self was cruel and rage built up in the tiny body of Kurai.

Equipped with the same gear, same knowledge, same skills as her, Shadow Kurai screeched out piercing through the darkness around them signaling what Kurai believed to be their latest set of attacks. The ringing scream of a banshee was the best way to describe what happened as Kurai stared heavily towards herself as if looking in the mirror. There was always something to worry about, something to do, and somehow she was supposed to defeat herself when she did her best to forget herself and her own problems. The challenges she faced up to this point were about not being her and staying hidden and lurking from shadow to shadow, to survive till the next day, survive till she could find her sister. There was much more she wanted to do and that was when she heard Asami's muttering even though she could barely hear her but the words she did, 'couldn't be hurt...' was enough of a warning for Kurai, this was extremely dangerous.

Considering the options that could happen here, Kurai was not inclined to let herself lose to herself for worry of what would happen to her if she lost. Would this thing enter as her? Would it take over her body and she gets trapped in the Dreamscape Sea? There were too many questions to consider and think about. With each appearing to have their own to deal with, Kurai was on her own and if this played on their thoughts, their own dreams, their understanding then she would simply need to get creative as she had done so all those many times before whenever a new challenge put itself in front of her but first, she needed to somehow gauge what was true about this nightmare before her. Words were of no use here which was a blessing to her, god she would hate to hear her own voice normally, having to hear it from an entity that was not her would have been the worst possible torture for her to handle. . . that was when it began to speak.

"Oooh Kurai~" Shadow Kurai spoke aloud though it sounded like a whisper in Kurai's ear. She figured whatever was playing the games, it was making it clear this was made for them. "Don't you remember? Your parents abandoned you. You were cursed, you are cursed, you will always be cursed." It repeated a few times, each succession emphasizing the word 'cursed'. Kurai gritted her teeth as the verbal assault continued though she did not let it go uncontested. She did not speak up against the words but rather she launched arrow after arrow towards the silhouette before her. In mirrored motion, the arrows found arrows lining up and deflecting each one she sent outward toward the entity that was impersonating her. Frustration and fear, anger and angst, displeasure and depression, were boiling all within the little body of Kurai as the setting near her Nightmare version became that of the tents, of the open road, the sky with no stars. Darkness consumes the surrounding space and twists it, contorts it, and slaps it juxtaposed to the monstrous version of Kurai. A shrill child scream was unleashed this time except it was from Kurai herself this time, not the Nightmare Kurai.

It was loud, louder than she had spoken before to Asami and Yukio's knowledge. She had been quiet, even in moments where volume was needed, she raised her voice ever so slightly as compared to her normal talking volume. She was a quiet girl, both in the sense of how often she spoke but also in the sense of her general volume when she spoke. At this moment, the dampener that held the voice in broke, and out came that scream of a child. The shrilled scream was intermixed with rage, sadness, ire, and guilt. Though for what, it was almost indeterminable as she threw the bow itself towards the nightmare version of herself. Her arms launched behind it, black threads cloaked by the darkness lashing out at the scenery before her as she unleashed her own flurry of strikes and slashes with her threads as her hands aimed for her reflection's body. The hand keeping the body busy as this was truly uncharacteristic of the Phantom.

She was a coolheaded, quick-to-act, quick-to-process, intelligent young girl with, not a great career path currently, but a future to be aiming towards regardless of it. She was a hunter by trade now, she had changed a bit from how she was but most of all she wanted her family. She wanted a home, she wanted to find herself and at the end of the night, she wanted to know where her sister was at least. There was no way she was finding her sister if she could not overcome her trauma, her past, and who she was now because where she needed to be was stronger, more agile, and more vicious in this cruel world. She never tested her limits but that did not stop her from trying in this moment. Black threads as thin as they could be pierced the entity over and over as she pulled herself towards it with her hands gripping it, pulling her away from the rest of the squad and the group that was supporting her thus far.

The scream eventually ended from Kurai's direction. Silence from where she stood as her body slowly receded back together again in the darkness. She walked back, keeping the mental image of her friends, Asami and Yukio, and Ryou. Her eyes were red as she emerged from the shadowy wisps the entity left behind as she knew there was more to come after this. Bow back in hand, a fierce look of determination was easy to see on the young Kurai's body. Her short hair did not cover her face, no hunter's hood to hide or lurk in either. She stood there, bow in hand ready for the next mess that the Dreamscape would send their way, waiting for the eye of the storm to linger overhead. This had to be the last stepping point before the big main event to occur.

WC: 1,200, TWC: 3,000 | TMWC: TMWC: 9,376 / 15,500

The darkness encroached the group and while he could remain calm in the face of uncertainty, it was something that had been sneaking upon him causing his rather strong willed bravado to slowly become cracked and revealed. Reaching into his cloak he would pull out an ordinary sword as if he was pulling it from memory, something he had once seen in his fathers memory. Holding the sword steady he would take in a deep breathe as he faced some of the shadow denizens and began his own dance. While his own skill with a sword had been lacking one thing he knew was the basic movements and how to keep himself standing. Moving slowly but with stride and purpose he would begin to cleave a few of the nightmares into twos and threes, keeping a fine pace and not being a brute like his own brother. The young Shinkou would continue in his movements taking out one to two at a time while the others would be focusing on their own battles, but his amber eyes would continue to see the specter in the background slowly growing in shape and size. It was something that he could never truly take out of his eyesight for if he did, Ryouta would find himself ingulfed in an irrational fear that could presume to swallow him whole if he was not careful. The more monsters he had slain the more he could see that shadow specter with colorless eyes gain shape until finally it stood fully formed. The sword would disappear as he stopped in his tracks the realization of what had been going on would finally click inside of his head. The specter in the corner had been feeding on the slain monsters they had fought until it had been given this form, the form of the person staring into the mirror. Amber eyes stared into the darkness of the same amber eyes though the ones of the specter seemed different...fulfilled in a way that only proved to unsetting the young male.

He looked over the carbon copy of him though as he turned to look for those he could call companions in this endeavor were indeed missing from his sight. Shadows had blanketed his vision and his hearing as he could hear nothing from the others though from the outside looking in it could appear that Ryouta was simply staring into the vastness of the darkness as it slowly tried to take him over. He took two steps to the right while the shadow of himself took two to the left ending with them locking eyes once more. Before Ryouta could speak the shadow would begin almost in a mocking tone," You think of yourself as a product of redemption for your father who failed the world and his home...but you are nothing but a carbon copy of what he wanted to become. While I accomplished this and so much more here you sit playing shinobi taking care of someone who only sees what they have lost in this life...what can you do little wolf? What can you truly accomplish?," the shadow mocked him as he began to slowly step forward. At first his only reaction was to run, move away from the specter but what had been happening to cause him to run away now? He was logical in his approach to this knowing this was a place that fueled dreams and nightmares yet he felt the real feeling of fear in his own body. It began to overpower his sense of logic to the point where the only thing he could feel that would save him would be to run. But was that not what began to plague his own father? Maybe the shadow had been right but then again...it was a manifestation of what he felt his downfall would be. His failures. Doomed to repeat the cycle once more and become the next phase of his father. It could have been right. The statistics were always a coin toss, but he would not let a nightmare dictate to him what his path would be.

The look of fear on his face would slowly be replaced with a smile that would begin to take form as a small blue glow on his body as he pointed at the shadow," You may have a point and you might even be right...I may be the one that repeats his cycle, but that is not up to a fake like you to decide.. I will break the cycle and through that redeem his name and legacy. You think you can do it better than me? Don't make me laugh. I'll show you and any that think they can decide my future. Begone shadow and don't ever think of testing me again. You will find that my intelligence far exceeds my need for nightmares and false fear...," the shadow that could only grin at first would begin to slowly evaporate and the shadows that were obscuring his sight from the team would soon fade and now could see again. Turning his body fully to face the others he would try to see if they had been okay or were they still afflicted. There may have not been anything that he could to help them and this might have been something they each had to fight on their own. Looking around the first he would be able to see would be Kurai, to which he would walk over to the younger female and look around," I guess you had to face your own demons or demon here as well? Whoever thought that one up may be able to get some creativity points, but overall bad taste for those with above average intelligence yeah? Where are the other two?," he'd ask her of course as he began to look around for them. Whether or not they had finished facing their own shadows, he would wait around with Kurai until they had shown themselves.

If this was the final step before they had reached the end it certainly was a clever way to make them doubt themselves and try to run. It begged the question of what had been behind this from the beginning or better what what had created the monster that laid in the darkest depths of this hellscape. One way or the other they would begin to find out as they took their final steps into the belly of the beast where hopefully they can lay this all to rest. Whether or not it would end it all was one thing, but the biggest thing on his mind was whether or not they would succeed or fall to ruin. Either way he would continue to push himself until he had finally seen the end of the road.

WC: 1,135/ TWC: 3,727/ TMWC: 10,511/15,500

As his evil doppelganger stepped slowly closer, Yukio failed to notice the rest of the surroundings and his companions fade away, until he was in an arena of shadow, only accompanied by this thing that clearly meant to do him harm. Its hands were in its pockets, as if it had nothing to be concerned about at all. Yukio could only stare, somewhat dumbfounded and definitely terrified, as this nightmare visage of himself drew to a stop thirty meters away from him. It maintained a malicious grin as it looked the real Yukio up and down, like a tomcat would size up a canary to eat. ”So, this is Senju Yukio, the one who fancies himself the second coming of the great Hashirama. Pathetic. You are nothing, a child playing with a power it couldn’t hope to understand.” The entity ran its too long tongue over its too many teeth as Yukio reeled back, as though he had been slapped. ”You think you can stand before the Demon King Aokidanza, the one who gives even my master pause? I’m going to devour you, piece by piece, savoring every little bite. Then, I’m going to return to your world and eat your weak father, and spend my time with your cute mother too. I’ll make sure she screams nice and long before I let her die. And there’s noth…!” The nightmare was cutoff in shock as a giant wall of water began to be expelled from Yukio’s mouth towards him, forming a massive flood ten meters wide, with waves rising up fifteen meters and barreling towards him, carrying Yukio on them as though he was surfing. Yukio was initially shocked and terrified by the nightmare and its malicious intent, but once the clichéd monologuing began, he quickly snapped out of it.

’This guy has never read a book before, clearly.’ Yukio thought as he rode the wave forward, utilizing his Surface Walking technique to remain above the water. His hands still remained by his side, hidden from view by the long robes he was wearing, and he was finishing the handseals for a second technique just as the wave reached its peak. ”You’re…really stupid, aren’t you?” Yukio asked of the retreating nightmare. Unfortunately for it, Yukio was well aware of his own weakness thanks to training with Nokino-sensei – he was not very good at dodging attacks due to his slower speed. Against another long-ranged attacker such as himself, he would need to the aid of teammates or techniques he had not mastered yet in order to escape. A point four meters behind the nightmare was chosen as the beginning of Yukio’s Swamp of the Underworld, which quickly expanded, sandwiching the nightmare between the two large scale jutsu. The nightmare backpedaled directly into the swamp and was immediately stuck in the sucking mire, slowly sinking into the still expanding muck. It looked on at Yukio with what appeared to be genuine shock, if not fear, as the Exploding Water Colliding Wave technique crashed down onto him. He wasn’t swept away, due to the strength of the swamp exceeding that of the wave, but he was battered and bruised, clearly having been hurt by the crushing weight of the water. The shadow sputtered and spat out a lungful of water before it locked eyes with Yukio in a rage, as the young Senju stood only 5 meters from the captured nightmare.

”Enough!” The entity raged impotently. ”I’m going to decorate this landscape with your entrails!” The doppelganger was still sinking into the swamp as it began forming handseals, Yukio quickly recognizing the technique in question. Launching into action before the seals could be completed, he formed the snake handseal and shoved his left hand forward as five Thrusting Spears were shot into the torso of the nightmare creature. It faltered, short gasping breaths escaping from its lips as it looked utterly shocked, hands trying and failing to form the last two seals as dark liquid oozed from its body. With a short effort of focus, Yukio used the spears to bind and constrict around the being, locking its body from acting or forming handseals while also draining it of chakra. Yukio shook his head as his hands fell down to his sides.

”And here we have the truth of it. If you were truly a Senju like I am, you would have been able to summon the Wood Dragon using only the snake handseal. I have the Will of Fire and the purity of the Senju clan coursing through my veins. You are nothing more than a cheap imitation of my true power. Die in obscurity.” Yukio walked away as the shadow writhed against its constraints and screamed obscenities and all manner of foul curses at his back, and the nightmare slowly slipped below the surface of the swamp. Silence thundered, and the shadowy arena that had formed around Yukio slowly drifted away to reveal the landscape he was in with his companions nearby. ”Well, I hope you all had a relatively easy time defeating your demons? I hope their personality wasn’t a replica, otherwise I need to apologize for how awful I am!” The young boy grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. Goodness, he hoped to never be that much of a sanctimonious blowhard!

---

WC: 885 | TWC: 2,756 | TMWC: 11,396/15,500

With all present after defeating their counterparts, Kurai's breath was heavy and steady. She had exhausted quite a bit of her own reserves and was still getting used to the fact that she was doing more and more regularly. She opted towards protecting others and herself more since she had stepped foot in Konohagakure No Sato and it was a trend she wished to figure out why. Perhaps the true path forward was through others, to find her sister she needed to help herself. The Nightmare Kurai was adamantly eating the parts that hurt within her and even though she remained quiet it shook her to her core. Once the recognition of voices came to Kurai her face flushed lightly as she regained her composure. Recalling the words both Ryouta and Yukio stated, Kurai nodded toward Ryouta before speaking toward Yukio, "I believe the idea was to try to prod for fuel or an entryway into us. The worst nightmares we have... the worse baggage... perhaps was supposed to use us to venture into our main lives?" Kurai proposed the idea as a concept while the darkness they exited began to coalesce into a ring around the group, far away from them.

Her loose sensory capacity could not initially see the change within the setting as the group had come together once more. The fact that it separated them and had them fight themselves seemed to almost bring their attention elsewhere, to allow whatever was pulling strings to act and make their plan become actable. It was moments later that the scene and space rumbled as Kurai fell to her knee to keep her balance to avoid falling over. The shadows that had formed the ring rose around them and formed into a sphere above them before features were made clear. A body slowly formed, reaching towards the apparent horizon as a monstrous entity began to howl against the four. Whatever the intent of such a creature it was not clear yet but one thing was for certain, it appeared the final boss arrived in the final moments after their success against their inner demons. Perhaps it was just poetic at this point to face an actual demon, or however one would ever be presented at least. The shadows did not appear to be tangible yet to Kurai, though she was uncertain about how to approach or even decide to act on the creature without certainty that she could act.

In most situations like this, Kurai would simply try to run. Produce camouflage for herself and hide with sensory abilities or lurk under the earth and run. Her threads had proved useful and her instinct to act proved true in most cases but this entity before her, before the group she was with, was not one she was mentally ready to handle nor seemed to have the capacity to make it work. She was fearful and she was unsure of herself and the moment the creature spoke it sent shivers down the young Kurai that was visible and present in the moment they were present for. The words it spoke were like ice, the intent was clear and concise, and there was more than just their own safety at risk. It was apparent there was more going on than even this entity that came from their respective entities. Perhaps that was the true nature of this place right now, corrupt what was present and the stronger the identity and weaker they become, the stronger this Avatar of Nightmares became. It was a simple conjecture but the likelihood seemed high as it spoke.

"Fooooools. The lot of you are fools for trying to defy us. The Land of Nightmares shall rise and consume. Feed us your strength, feed us your dreams, your aspirations!" The entity roared at the four of them. Its body contorted and shifted revealing features and attributes of themselves, the creatures they fought, and even remnants of the children's relics that they had seen. This entity had been following them the entire time they had been here. It was evident as it called out. "You foolish clansmen. From the mighty bloody Senju to the deprave Koutaishi... or shall I call you what you truly are... a Tau." It voiced pointing towards little Kurai. Before it stared between Asami and Ryou, "Yet we also have a regal dissociative Hyuuga here alongside a man who wishes to keep himself hidden and lurks within the shadow of his father? What fools the four of you make yourselves become." It claimed as the head formed horns within the darkness of its silhouette, spikes grew from it to mirror the formation of the wooden spears that Yukio unleashed, its arms withering with blackened tendrils similar to that of Kurai's. Its eyes were undetectable and seeable as it was simply a dark mass in their vision. However, two holes formed where eyes would be almost mocking the Byakugan. The tendrils formed into a blade as it lowered it toward the group in a massive swing.

It landed in between the group as a sudden shift in scenery launched them into two groups on what appeared to be floating platforms. It was time for a true fight with an entity that fed on their powers, fed on their capacity, mocked their abilities, and pushed them towards darkness that its body began to fill in from the bottom of the Dreamscape space they occupied. Danger was the first though as all methods of getting out of this without a fight were taken before they even realized what had happened. Kurai looked out and gritted her teeth as the tiny Tau screeched outward in frustration. Her volume was laughable in comparison to the Avatar of Nightmare's voice which had boomed and echoed in space. "NO! We. Are. Not. Fools!" She yelled out as her chakra flared around her expanding rapidly as she formed handseals once more. Her soul resonated within the space, a guiding light in the encroaching darkness surrounding them. Expanding outward 25 meters, the others could feel her soul reaching out for support in this endeavor as she roared as loud as her little body could in defiance of what the creature claimed for the group to be. It was insulting to hear her not called who she was. Sure she was aware that she did not truly share the same blood, but it was becoming abundantly clear that she was not the same as her sister. Yet to hear it be thrown at her face like that twice in a row now? Completely unacceptable.

WC: 1,100, TWC: 4,100 | TMWC: 12,496 / 15,500

It would seem the others had finished facing their demons and as the group came together at least they had been better put together at least. It was one thing to face the nightmares of others, but when faced with your own nightmares and demons it became...mentally and sometimes heavy. Two of the group had a good head on their shoulders from what he could tell and that was good. Whatever had been left for them to deal with would take more than just smarts...it may take everything they had. His head would turn toward Yukio as he made a see-saw like motion with his hands," Your own inner demons often take after the worst of yourself. The parts you keep hidden and the parts that even you are afraid to settle with. So yes. I would say you have quite a bit of apologizing if you had some difficulties with yourself," he couldn't say much on his own behalf because his inner struggle was with both the dead and himself. In the end he would have to stand in front of the mirror and choose his path, but for now he would hold the encounter within the confines of his mind for now. Kurai might have a point and a above average hypothesis that he could see merit in. All of this seemed to have tried to at least collect more and more from them. Whether it was nightmare fuel or trying to pry deeper into their subconscious to free itself. With each passing second he could see this being more of the case, but he was not about to jump to conclusions.

As he returned his hands into the darkness of his cloak he could see the shadows moving from around them and beginning to coalesce into a circle that looked like it was trying to keep them in. His amber eyes would continue to track the area around them before forming overhead into a sphere. He did not know what it could be, but he knew or rather he could feel it in his bones that this...this was the end. His left foot would slide back as features both grotesque and abnormal would begin to form in the sphere as it gained form. Nothing about this became logical to him and perhaps that was when he began to truly feel that abnormal emotion. He began to feel fear. As the loud voice boomed from the entity, he could feel the words stabbing into him. While they were not physical in nature, he could feel them stabbing into his very being as his body began to buckle. The voice continued and as the body landed onto the ground, he would feel his body pushed away and backwards due to the shockwave it emitted. Landing onto one of the platforms he would tumble back once before finding his ground and sliding an inch or two more. Wiping a bead of sweat from his face he would begin to rack his brain on how they could beat this...if they could. Looking to his left and right he could see he was on a platform with the small child, Kurai, he couldn't find a conclusion. For once the mind he had prized himself on began to fail him and finally doubt began to settle in. His amber eyes closed for a moment before as the doubt was fully realized and for a moment he nestled in the darkness.

It would not be long before he felt that light, the cold of the darkness soon became warm as he opened his eyes and turned toward the source. A smile appeared on his face and it was either because he was impressed or taken aback. The one he would have thought would have tried to cut tail and run stood among the mold, held herself tall despite her size. Her cry, no matter how small became a lantern in a sense. Standing up fully he would scratch his head as he walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder as if both to calm her and show her that he was here with her," Now now... If you do that you're going to give this beast the impression that you are down and out... Instead lets show him what a group of "fools" can really do," and as if on cue he would flare his own chakra, adding it to hers. Around him a white and silvery aura would emit from him bright as a roaring flame as he added to her light causing it to brighten more and more.

770 WC: TWC: 4,497 TMWC: 13,266

The group of shinobi stood together and commiserated about their shared battles against the doppelganger nightmares. Kurai shared a particularly insightful idea in regard to the purpose of the nightmares, to which Yukio agreed. As the four spoke with each other, their surroundings slowly changed, unnoticeable at first, but soon a clear arena of shadow had formed around them. A large sphere of shadow began forming in the center of this arena, several meters into the air. As they watched a body slowly formed, huge in stature as a howl began to emanate from the beast. A palpable malice radiated from the entity as it took shape; this must be the master his shadow double spoke of. An entity that wished to enter their realm and destroy it. The entity continued to take shape, visible aspects of themselves appeared, and then it spoke.

"Fooooools. The lot of you are fools for trying to defy us. The Land of Nightmares shall rise and consume. Feed us your strength, feed us your dreams, your aspirations!" More images and likenesses began to become visible on the monstrous creature, things they had seen and fought against in the days and weeks prior, to just a few moments ago. "You foolish clansmen. From the mighty bloody Senju to the depraved Koutaishi...or shall I call you what you truly are...a Tau." Yukio glanced toward Kurai, who appeared shaken by the beast’s words, and the young Senju realized that both he and Kurai were still in the bodies of their younger selves. Yukio himself didn’t quite worry about this, as he had a safe and sheltered childhood within Konoha, or, at least, as safe and as sheltered a life the child of career shinobi could have. He knew nothing of Kurai’s past, of her trials or tribulations, and from the way her small fist was pressed firm, he wagered a guess that it may not have been the most pleasant. Generally touching a shinobi when they didn’t want it or expect it was a bad idea, but Yukio reached out anyway, attempting to place his hand on her shoulder in reassurance. The creature roared out more obscenities and unimportant drivel as Yukio spoke to Kurai.

”Don’t worry, Kurai. We’re here with you.” He smiled brightly at her, his sunny personality shining through the cloying darkness, if only for a brief moment. ”Besides, Anti-Yukio already told me this guy was scared of Aokidanza-sama, so I bet the four of us can take him!” Yukio nodded sharply at his declaration, stepping back and assuming a neutral stance, ready to engage with the entity once it became advantageous to do so. Unfortunately, that moment came much more quickly than Yukio anticipated as a giant blade made of pulsing shadow slammed into the ground between himself and Kurai, splitting both the group and the ground into two, as he and Asami found themselves on a floating platform of earth just like Kurai and Ryouta were on opposite them. Yukio was stunned slightly to hear a tiny, but fierce, shout of defiance leave Kurai’s voice and her chakra flared to life around her. He felt a connection to her, something that echoed within his own soul. A blue aura sprung to life around Yukio as the Senju blood that coursed through his veins responded to her spirit in kind. His body thrummed with vitality and his chakra pulsed within him, calling to be let free, to enact his will upon the world.

”Let me show you why the Senju are renowned throughout the entirety of the Elemental Nations!” Yukio shouted his own battlecry, the hands hidden within his robes formed into twin snake seals, as trees erupted from the ground around his companions and the shadow entity itself. A single tree formed on both platforms the shinobi were on, and from each a tree-shaking roar sounded as the heads of two Wood Dragons emerged from the trees, heading straight towards the entity. Yukio stepped off the platform onto the dragon, anchoring himself with chakra, and shouted to his companions. ”If you need a ride, hop on!” Once all those who wished were aboard the dragons, Yukio urged the serpents’ forward towards the monster.

The final fight was about to begin.

---

WC: 710 | TWC: 3,466 | TMWC: 13,976

The tiny shinobi’s resonating soul connected with the trio of Konohagakure no Sato Shinobi. From the three beside her, the visage of her seemed to ethereally grow as a purple outline of the true form of Kurai in her hunter’s garb overlapped the younger formed Kurai. Its motions mirrored her movements as she saw Yukio’s dragon grow and move forward towards the beast. As she was not a physical combatant yet, she nodded as she acknowledged Ryouta’s hand on her shoulder. The young Kurai drew her bow once more as the black threads in her body began to form for her as her visage performed seals in her stead. Her bow became covered and strengthened by the threads giving it increased lethality. As she herself and more threads began form seals as arrows formed within her quiver, fully preparing for a fight. As she knocked the arrows there was an intense pressure around her as she drew them to fire.

A concussive force could be felt around her as the first arrow launched striking its intended target severing part of its lower arm off before it regrew with a concerning amount of efficiency and speed. It was very likely the creature was not going to submit or surrender if that was the case. Kurai’s eyes showed her determination as she drew back another arrow and launched it, another concussive force echoing out from both the tiny Kurai and the visage of the older one. Each arrow stripping some of what hide the older’s visage as first the hood disappeared, and then just now it was the armguard. The arrow struck true once more lodging itself into the left side of the Avatar of Nightmare’s chest. It howled in pain and anger as it moved a newly formed arm towards the duo of Ryouta and Kurai, if Ryouta had not moved that is. As if not missing a beat, another arrow was knocked and released without hesitation as it found its way to the center of the arm that was coming at the duo balled into a fist. It pierced and splintered the newly formed arm as is spun down the length of it.

Standing firm and unflinching, the Phantom Kurai remained silent with each shot. The only sounds present were the arrow’s whistle and her breath moments before she drew the string back to launch another arrow. She watched, waited, and then fired as openings formed. There was nothing distracting her aim as each successive arrow against the Avatar of Nightmares either lodged and embedded itself into its body or severed a limb with its impact force. There was a coldness to Kurai as her arrows were fired. It was calculative in nature as if nothing else was a matter. It seemed simply just business from the silent markswomen. Her eyes tracking the movements of her companions in this fight for the Land of Dreams and the World of the Waking, the Avatar of Nightmares as it attempted to fight those who got closer. Their group made it this far already and Kurai could not imagine losing at this point. The strength of  Konohagakure no Sato and the denizen from the Land of Demons proved to be a force to be reckoned with. The physical prowess partnered with the ranged combatants was enough to fight and contend with whatever was thrown at them. Rallied after defeating the corrupted imagery of themselves, it was difficult to imagine after such recourse to fail. Each of them had something to prove, to fight for, or to simply survive. Yet for whatever reason or motivation the group had, Kurai was thankful to be amongst friends.

While the group focused its efforts, Kurai felt all the dreams that her arrows pierced. Some of grandeur like becoming famous, rich, the daimyo even. Other dreams were simple, becoming a genin, taking over the family business, forging a new tool for shinobis to use. They all were inside the Avatar of Nightmares and Kurai’s sensory ability told her much more as they fought. At first a murmur from her lips escaped as the once silent through the start of the fight archer began to speak aloud. She would knock another arrow launching it toward the avatar’s face as a concussive strike bellowed within the Dreamscape Sea as each hit from the group of them made the creature shrink. Kurai, even though she could not see it herself, felt the dreams beginning to escape outward and away from the being before them. “Keep up the attacks! We’re releasing whatever it has devoured!” Kurai shouted attempting her best to be heard as she knocked another arrow to send towards the beast. It’s form adjusting as they continued their assault against the Devourer of Dreams. The nightmarish entity roared and screamed as they fought but through their valiant efforts, they were successful. Slowly the creature fell and scattered within the Dreamscape as it slowly shifted back to the the previous locations they had traveled through as it rebounding the group back towards their point of entry. It was a slow process as Kurai’s powers subsided eventually, the small child version being all that remained of her presence. No clones 94 visages of her actual self present, there was an eerie silence to Kurai at the end of the fight.

As they stood and the scene continued to shift before them, it was not long before they found themselves back at the moment they found each other with the Administration Tower of Konohagakure no Sato stood before the group. They won. There was not another ghost of a dream lurking around the corner ready to pounce. In fact, there were wisps of dreams that floated and lingered and left at their own pace now. The land of Dreams had started to return to what it was supposed to be with the thanks of the four of them. Between the Konohagakure no Sato trio and Kurai, to the amazement of the latter, all of them including her made it to the end of the story. They made it this far thanks to the support of others but she still felt there was more for her to try and do within the world. Her sister was still out there and at the rate things were going, she was not getting any closer to her. In such a joyous moment, the Phantom could only feel a sense of melancholy to the success of the group. Her sister had always been a part of her mind as she wondered how she would be fairing at this point but there had to be some degree of awareness that her sister had else she felt like she could have found her by now. Not being in their home continent made the search more difficult but Kurai shook her head bowing towards the others finally recognizing they were still present.

“Thank you all for the cooperation once more. Thank you Ryou for helping as well.” She said in a bit more of a formal manner. Though it was not clear if this was a byproduct of her being tiny and mentally aligning with that time of her life to maintain the degree and sense of familiarity or otherwise. Her threads had long rescinded back into her body as the outfit on her also was fixed from any scuffles they previously encountered already. It truly felt that they had traveled backwards to where they started but without moving, it appeared to her the Dreamscape Sea maintained the space as it was likely once they departed they would return to their own dreams or dreamscapes that they were meant to go towards that night. Kurai looked upon the tower before them and bowed towards it too, “Thank you for your hospitality.” She voiced almost as if she felt like there was more who were watching somehow. It was then she waved and bade the others farewell for there was nothing else left to do but check back in the Land of the Waking.

Beginning to leave the place they all meet up in the Land of Dreams, as she walked away the transformation of her identity and self began to revert back to who she was presently. It was a long journey to get to this moment in time but the most arduous journeys always pay back for what they offered. Kurai knew more than anything that their journey to find their sister would likely lead to another one. Perhaps her sister found a village to be apart of or maybe even found their parents. There was so many questions in the young adult’s mind that it was clear that she was able to dream once more. A wonderful feeling to have when they spent so much effort to save the village and then subsequently the Land of Dreams shortly after. A soft smile graces the lips of the mostly emotionless girl, a moment she would treasure till the very end. She was satisfied with the end result of it all. There were friends that were made and a level of confidence that she learned about herself at the end of the day.

[Exit]

WC: 1,525, TWC, 4,625| TMWC: 15,501/ 15,500

Mission Rewards wrote:Total Ryo Reward: 38,750 Ryo
Total AP Reward: 192 AP, New AP Total from 328 is now 520/1,000
Total Dream Tokens: 100 DTs + Dream Waiver

WC Claims: 4,625 WC wrote:To be made later

The four shinobi clashed against the monstrous entity, this Lord of Nightmares. Its body was a writhing amalgamation of everything they had witnessed during this crisis, but also things hidden, dreams and desires held deep within their own minds. Yukio and his two Wood Dragons flew within striking distance of the Lord of Nightmares, ferrying along his fellow shinobi who chose to take advantage of the platforms the dragons made. He himself made another snake handseal and the dragons each opened their mouths, firing Thrusting Spears from each into the body of the creature. As damage was being dealt by the four, parts of the being were sloughing off, giving flashes of images and ideas. Yukio saw the bear that threatened the young child and other dreams they encountered during their time here fall and dissipate as Kurai hit the entity with an arrow. A quick glance showed him the power and control she had over the tendrils that appeared to comprise her whole body, and Yukio was very impressed by her. Asami and Ryouta were both impressive to witness as well. The Senju boy felt pride well within him as he thought about all those who made Konohagakure their home, and those who strove to be the best they could be for their village.

The battle raged, and deep within Yukio began to see something in the distance above the cloying darkness that surrounded them. He couldn’t quite make it out, seeing only glimpses and flashes of something big. Something really big. He shook his head to focus on continuing this fight, but as it continued the image began to resolve itself. Luckily he had teammates here helping him, because Yukio was stunned for a full second of time as he looked into the sky and saw something he never thought he could actually glimpse.  It was a massive tree; larger than any other thing he had ever seen. Its branches and canopy would have obscured nearly the entire sky, had it been more than just a darkened void. Its roots pulsed with power and life, its trunk larger than the entire city of Konohagakure no Sato. As the image seared itself into Yukio’s mind, it flashed a golden light before disappearing completely. Yukio was brought back to reality and the fight at hand, but with intimate knowledge of what he had never known, but subconsciously always hoped in.

Seikaiju – The World Tree.

Yukio was empowered, a fire burning in his chest like never before, as his soul resonated with the image of Seikaiju he had seen. He knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it was his mission in life to discover more about this strange tree and the power it wielded. But first, they needed to make it out of the Land of Dreams alive.

Yukio redoubled his efforts, fighting like a man possessed, as he threw jutsu after jutsu at the Nightmare King. Soon enough, the entity collapsed, the coalesced shadows it was created form dissipating back into the dreams and desires they once were. The landscape shifted around them as the four found themselves outside of the Administration Tower in Konohagakure no Sato. All four were there, Ryouta, Asami, Kurai, and himself. The sun shone brilliantly overhead, somewhat jarring given the darkness they were just within. The four said their farewells, a kinship and camaraderie formed between them as only the crucible of combat could make.

[EXIT]

---

WC: 572 | TWC: 4,038

Mission Rewards:
Total Ryo Reward: 38,750 Ryo
Total AP Reward: 192 AP
Total Dream Tokens: 100 DTs + Dream Waiver

25% Max Stats discount applied
--936WC to Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave - prior claim here 1125/1125
--375WC to Earth Release: Earth Style Wall D -> C Rank
--750WC to Demonic Illusion: Flower Garden 750/750 for C Rank
--750WC to Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole 750/750 for C Rank
--750WC to Basic Medical Ninjutsu 750/750 for C Rank
--477WC to Chakra Absorption 477/750