A Haunting in Venice (Event Mission Part 2)

Away from the Jashin Temple, Katsuragi was seen saunter about in a place full of wild life, adventure, and big game. That's right, Katsuragi was in none other than Tanzaku Town, aka Quarter Town. The gambling capital of the world! Oh yes, and it was indeed very full of life this fine evening. Despite the impending doom of the open void, spreading through the lands, People still needed to get their fix. Hell, if folks were going to die today, there was no way they were going to do so sober. The drinks were topped off, the chips were set, the lights were bright, and honey pots were sweet and ready for the taking.

Under the open rift, teeming with chaotic energies to which the world had never seen before, the newly constructed, KenDen Casino was active. Inside it, Katsuragi was seen trying his luck at a craps table. he bangs at the edge of the table, despite the multiple warnings from the security Guards. He could could receive so much warnings, even with his affiliation with the Hashimoto Family, before finally getting the tap on the shoulder.

"Dammit! Nooo! Watch out Man! Can't you see! the dealer is killing me!", but it was too late! He was disturbing the peace, and to many people had had it up to here with his shit. He needed to be dealt with immediately. He was forced from the table and asked to leave. He didn't bother cashing out, it was too embarrassing to cash out 10 ryo worth of chips. Guess it would be tip for the dealer, to which he so did not deserve in Katsuragi's opinion. The dealer deserved to eat shit and die like all the other leeches that ran this casino. He was never coming back here, at least for another week or so. He needed to get more money first.

Looming above, the Rift suddenly grew active. Ethereal Flares from the rift sprung from its birth and made their way towards the casino. Katsuragi, making a turn around the corner, was met with a bright light from the flare.

"Ugh! Light Bright!", he reaches into his pocket within his Jacket and pulls out throws on a pair of black shades with haste.

The Flare, now over and done, Katsuragi scans his new surroundings. A Sight to behold, a world unseen! He gasps abruptly at the seemingly endless field, he couldn't make sense of it all. The floating structures, the missing craps tables, the endlessness. It was too much for him to process all at once. Where did he go? What did he do? How would get home, where will he GO!?

He groans at the doom he now resides in "Uuuuurrraaahhhhrree!!", he grunts harshly while collapsing down to his knees..., his hood covering his sorrows and temporarily shielding him from the unknown lands. But it was his reality, he had to face it. He had try, he had to make it back home! After a few sniffles, he gathers himself. He says a few prayers to the almighty Jashin, seeking his infinite wisdom in this ever dear moment of crisis.

With his cry fro help, now stuck in a queue for his lord Jashin to get to at a later date, he reaches into his outer jacket pockets with both hands. He fetches a lighter and a preroll. His stress levels were too high, he needed to tone it down. After he lights the roll, which was now in his mouth, his hoodie falls backwards. He feels a slight tickle going down his neck, the back of it to. A slight breeze was felt from his right, blowing out the light from his zippo lighter.

"Oh shit, thanks homie!"

"Sisssss!!", the snakes altogether acknowledge his gratitude, in one loud union. Katsuragi jolts back, he snakes come forth from his peripherals. Coiling about their green and black scales catching the light as they make their grand reveal. His hair now replaced with a full set of snakes. The living locks scan their new host, in unison. It was a wave of lively reptilian hair, getting a fix on their new maker. "Noooo!", he yelled, while taping the front of his forehead. "My Hairline! it's gone!", he runs throughout the fields in panic mode, searching for answers he had yet formed questions for.

Katsuragi's attire consisted of a Yakuta black leather jacket, which underneath he wears a Black and blue stripped hoodie flannel jacket. To add, underneath the flannel was a plain white shirt. His belt is black leather, designer's choice, with an overlapping Medusa emblem as a buckle. The pair of pants he wore is a fresh pair of black jeans with ankle zippers located on the lower inside section of the pants. His boots on his feet also being solid black of a leather material with an emblem labeled "LV", it's made of metal stitched to the tongue of the boots. His arms torso and hands bore a mural of mostly assorted prison tattoos; all black ink in color. He himself stood at a height of 6'2 feet with a thin frame. His tools and such were all assorted evenly along his attire, given no hint to their whereabouts yet allowed him easy access with a little bit of technique.

He was now seen roaming about the endless field, hoping to strike out at luck. Perhaps someone else was here? He then ran into a bright blue, grounded bird with all terrain four wheel drive capabilities? Lucky his thick black shades remained on his face, shielding his newly acquired serpent eyes from the rest of the world. He drops his jaw at the sight of the thing as he sat on the floor, the many snakes did too as they marveled at the sight of the duck. "Oh my god, what the fuck? It's a duck!", he gets up from the ground, and tries to communicate after padding himself down. The snakes hone in on the duck, altogether. Their gaze striking like a basilisk.

"Yo... whats up Dock. You got any idea what these floating obelisks are doing here? Oh and uh, how I can get back home to Tanzaku Town?", he stands idle like his present company  while waiting for a response.
---
TWC/ 1046

Falling asleep in Konohagakure was already unpleasant but the severity of the situation arose quickly from day to day. She wanted to move onward and forward and find her sister but the nightmares persisted, they continued, and they remained. She felt her stitching grow irritable that night and her skin felt coarse. She developed a wonderful sense of stillness and found a stick holding her up. She woke up on a cross that was hung in a field, far beyond the outskirts of the village she was sleeping in. The fear and terror remained from rest as she startled herself awake on that cross. A straw hat was on her head, a pair of worn blue denim overalls plainly dressed, and a stiffed red and white plaid shirt underneath it. Pulling herself off with some difficulty, Kurai realized she was once more within the Land of Nightmares except this time she was unaware of where she was. This was not home, this was not Konohagakure, nor was it the little town filled with liars, gamblers, and thieves within the Land of Fire that she had called temporary housing for the longest time.

With an ache in her chest, she knew she was in need of hearts, this much had not changed from one space to the next as she noticed from her stitching, hay was pushing out. Her threads were replaced with hay and her skin was that of leather. It was as if the world itself was showing she was artificially made without a heart, though she could still feel it beat. It was weak, it was not like before. She had much she needed to learn about and grow with but for now, it was time to find the needle in the field, there had to be others around. While wandering for a while, she could tell the hay left a small trail and did her best to stitch herself up. Her lips were sealed and her limbs could fold but that did not deter the young Tau from proceeding onward.

Eventually, a large duck could be seen on the horizon, there was much to determine from it. It was unique and stood above the grass as she remained at her height of 6 foot 3, or 190.5 centimeters, as she walked before approaching the duck finding what appeared to be a snake-haired man from a biker gang up Route 66 of a far distant land. Walking out of what looked like a cornfield themselves, Kurai looked between the two and gave a scarecrow shrug at the duo. Attempting to speak let out more hay as the face of the scarecrow contorted into frustration. As quiet as she was normally, not speaking was an issue. Thankfully her arrows and tools were on her still and thus with a swift motion, and an arrowhead to cut, she undid some of the stitching on her face as she spat out hay into the air before its slow descent.

"Land of Dreams? More like Land of Nightmares..." She spoke, her voice sounding as if she had choked on hay, "I think we need to find whoever is stirring trouble." She proposed to the group as she felt her weak heartbeat more, it was a stirring amount of problems becoming a scarecrow but now there was a degree in this nightmare that she only wished for a heart. It was a fickle situation to begin but hopefully, the massive duck and medusa-man would be able to appease the more pressing of the issues which was figuring out where to go from here.

WC: 600, TWC: 600 | TMWC: 2,162 / 17,500 (600 / 4,375 Quarter Portion)

At last a person even if it was a rather tall one, with prison tattoos all over his hands, and dressed as an emo, even more impressive the tangle of snakes atop his head. How he knew the duck was a doc was a mystery, but that was a question for later they had to figure out what the duck was happening and get out of their preduckiment. "You got here from Tanzaku town? I got here from Kirigakure. It seems these reports on the rifts spreading were accurate. The fact they are this expansive is terrifying." He would pause a moment to ponder the obelisks he was not quite sure what they were, just that some needed to be viewed to understand the language of this world. "If you touch them they show you a nightmare and let you read, I do not know much more than that. I just arrived myself and touched the glowing green floating objects out of curiosity."

The approaching scarecrow was quite alarming as it pulled out a blade. Had the thing not paused in front of them, before drawing the weapon Akabayashi would have assumed it was an enemy. But it cut its own mouth open and coughed out a hayball, before making what the kage assumed was an attempt at a joke. The strawperson then gave a suggestion they find the one creating these nightmares. Which he could only agree as much as his rubber vehicular body amused him he would not like the change to be permanent. He however had to ask a question to see if this breach in reality was more expansive than his borders and that of the land of fire. "From where did you get trapped in this nightmare world?"

Out of thin air another strange one appeared a sentient sword which spawned in the dimension and shouted what the duck. It seemed to know the Medusa man, how was quite mysterious, but then again of all of them he was the most human featured. "Well since we have one name, I suppose introductions are useful at this point. I am Akabayashi Terumi." As he said this he realized he was unable to see the world through the eyes of his doll. The ducks eyes became purple with six rings as the doctor reestablished his connection with his path. The path would go find his bodyguard to watch over the doctor until he woke up. Besides now he could assess how many in his village were under the effects of this nightmare.

The path would stand and run first toward Yoshinori then to his office to read the reports. Once, done he would give the others the updates on any information he had gathered. He would of course interact with them as normal while the path did its thing. Experiencing two things and having multiple conversations at once had become simple. When the clone did its job he would give them the update. "I have learned that many people within my village have entered a sort of coma they cannot wake from. Including myself, I assume you are all in a similar state. My guess is some people asleep were pulled here and took on atypical forms and these floating green objects are nightmares fueling this world. Perhaps, we are dreamers and that is why we can move. The nightmares are trapped and unable to move. When I first got here I had to mold my form, perhaps those stuck could not and that explains why even though half the world is hostage there are so few of us able to speak and move." It was just his running theory, but it was entirely unproveable in his condition and with no lab.

A booming voice from the sky would yell at them next. There was no one in the sky just a furious echoing voice. "How can you be both asleep and awake? This doesn't make sense, lets kill them before they wake others." It seemed the voice had power in this realm as hordes of monsters seemed to be running at the group based on the voices call. Well Akabayashi seemed to be one of the causes behind this attack, so he would not shy away from the approaching enemies. With a few wing seals he was staring down the hoarde with his laser ready to fire. He would walk in front of the others and fire the beam wiping out any who dared charge. There were many more than he had originally seen however as dust was kicked up in all directions around them beasts in different forms were on the prowl werewolves, vampires, Frankenstein's monsters. They seemed to be moving in waves to attack the group perhaps because they had taken forms. Akabayashi had the front he would have to rely on the others to take their own directions and push forward.

Making more wing seals the ducktor would create a wooden golem and throw the massive arms on its back at the approaching monsters, crushing many of them. It fired lasers made of lightning from its heads, and stomped the ground crushing many monsters underfoot. It swiped with its arms knocking the creatures away, but many had managed to climb the titan. The doctor would use his black threads to deal with ones that had gotten close. The strings forcing themselves out of his rubber body. It seemed jutsu unique to his body worked like the Rinnegan and his wood jutsu, so it just seemed his appearance changed not his biology. As more and more monsters were killed he began to notice the pair of eyes simply watching them. He tried to focus on them, but whenever he tried to get a better look the eyes moved to the corner of his vision. It seemed the thing was taking form with each monster killed slowly taking on a humanoid shape. When the wave was cleared by everyone it was now clear it was a couple people, but who were they it was too far off, but it seemed these monsters deaths were feeding whatever rhey were.

The duck would wheel itself back to the group fighting any more monsters that popped up between them. "I think our main problem will be whatever those are." He would point to the figures forming in the distance. It seems like the more we defeat the more detail those things get. I think destroying them before we run out of stamina will be for the best."[/b] As he assumed the nightmare would not just let you kill its soldiers the world would defend them. It manifested another wave of monsters these ones seemingly tougher and more vicious than the last. As they were bigger and faster the wave was upon them before they could even strategize properly. Akabayashi began by splitting himself, his masked beasts exiting and using jutsu to barbeque, drown, electrify, and cut the enemies. They were incredibly resilient being cut on their bodies had little effect the mask concealed the only major organ on them. The main body of Akabayashi stood by and fired wood dragons and created wooden totem poles with the heads of dogs which would extend and chomp at any enemy approaching them. It would not be long before they had advanced far enough to see the things that had been forming. He could not recgnize three of the figures however he could see that one of them was him. He could only assume that the other three were the Medusa man, the scarecrow, and the enchanted sword. It seemed that they weren't quite complete though as they could not move, but it seemed only a matter of time before they were ready to go.

With a few more of the monsters killed the figures began to twitch and few more they were moving and they were moving toward the group killing off their friends. They moved slowly probably to drain as much energy from the group as possible before they had to fight their clones. It was a smart tactic, one worthy of praise if it hadn't been their enemy using it to try and kill them. Perhaps it would be better to not have mirror matches. "Do any of you use weapons or taijutsu? It would be better to engage the one with red hair in close combat as he is likely unable to teleport. I cannot at the moment, so it is likely best to assume my clone can not either. Just watch out for the black orbs it can create, they will disolve anything they touch. Any advice on whichever of your clones I am going to face?" He hoped one of them could take him down as awkward as that thinking was. It was for their collective benefit he had to be taken down. So, Akabayashi was quite quick to sell himself out. Perhaps the others were also as forthcoming.

WC: 1504
TWC: 2020/4375

The Medusa saunters over to the floating green crystal as the blue duck explained what was going on. What world of madness, it was as if he was tripping massive bear balls. The glowing figure hummed with an ominous glow, yet Katsuragi felt the need to tap into its power for reasons known only to him. his right hand slowly rose to his shades, but were quickly swatted away from one of his lovely serpent care takers. He feels the edge of one of its fangs, yet no poison was injected lucky. They knew that killing its host would doom them to a lonely immobile fate. Such annoying sneaky things they were. Always biting and hissing with no warning, or delay. He groans loudly only to swing back towards the blue talking duck. The moment was over. Not like he was missing much. This whole thing was a nightmare, he could have been gambling back at the KenDen Casino, or even the world renowned Shogun Palace, but noooo. However, the two were accompanied by yet another challenger. Straight from the yellow brick road, far far away from home, the scarecrow appears!

He stares blankly at the approaching figure, his shades completely covering half his facial expression, but his snakes did most of the work. Who was this thing, why was it here!? was the being the old great and powerful wizard? Come to vanquish Medusa and the duck? As it drew a sharp object, the medusa tensed. But the weapon wasn't for him, his panic mode being a product of him being on the receiving end of a lot of shivs. He scarecrow then cuts itself, carving its mouth up like some jack o lantern. "UUUggh!", he yelped, it was as if he could feel the pain for it. 'The fuck is goin on here?', he thought to himself. Nevertheless, the being proved intelligent, speaking the words to which he knew! PAYBACK time.

They all stared with laser focus eyes at the walking, talking, living haystack as it rolled over their way. Their deadpan expression seeming had no end, till the suggestion of finding out who was behind this was given. Now that as something he could get along with, the snakes perk up at the thought. The union between man and snake were one in thought of this idea. "Mhmm! Now that's what we need to do!", he steps back and slams his right fist into the palm of his other hand. "We gotta find out who did this to us, jack em up! Quarter Town Style!", he reaches into the side of his right boot and pulls out an OTF switch blade. With a push of the lever, the blade ejects out with force.

SNIKT!!!

The sound rings within the area with a somewhat soothing tone... well for him at least. he's the one with the knife. Which proved to be false, the final visitor had finally arrived. One that would bring a sharp memory to light once more.

The memory was..., obscured. He knew not how the floating shiv knew his name. When have they met he wondered? Perhaps he was a bounty hunter, come to collect but failed in the process? Or perhaps, an old cellmate? So many possibilities, just who was this thing? The thought kept burrowing in, trying to force the MaDKat to think harder! It's voice was familiar, that much was certain.

"Yeh...", he said nonchalantly, leering over towards the floating the sword. Katsuragi just didn't like meeting folks who knew him behind mysterious pretenses. That's how people get caught, it be your own people sometimes too. He knew this all too well.

The plot then began to thicken, the report given by the aqua duck revealed some concerning things. All the more reason to wrap  this little episode up to get back home. The thought of his body, laying unconscious within the casino, within the reputable Tanzaku Town, only added more to the nightmare he was currently living. "Oh man..., I am soo gonna get robbed. Maaan I need to get back...", he looks back at the floating crystals. His memory returning with a key detail that may be of use. "Wait you may be right! When I was at the crap tables, the dice they used that night were different. They glowed green just like them! Maybe they're a connection. Either that, or I was hot! CLACK CLACK CLACK!", he made gestures of rolling dice with his free hand. His other remained tight with his switchblade. He may have been lying about the winning, but rest assure, Katsuragi would make sure that the house wouldn't be winning tonight.

The dinner bell finally rung, the deadly voice from above called out to it's children. Katsuragi, vexed to hell, looked down to the ground. He could feel the ground shake beneath them. Earthquake, he wondered? Great, just what he needed. The blue duck took front, Katsuragi now behind the duck as he surveyed the field. They were surrounded! Waves upon waves of great folklore beasts were charging towards the group. They saw meat, and were ready to feast upon the outsiders. A prime tough duck ready to be roasted as a entree, using the scarecrow as tinder! But Katsuragi wasn't safe either, as he would be first up as some sort of appetizer snake soup. The floating sword to be passed around and used as a toothpick. Not today!

Katsuragi took the right flank, he stares down the hunger beasts. "Time to go ta...". he looks off to his left to see the giant wooden statue. Of course he was at a safe distance, but never saw such a construct. Whoever this duck was, it possessed some strange jutsu. It wasn't on the flimsy side either, it worked. Hordes of beasts were being wiped out. He glances back and forth between the giant rocking golem and his little toothpick of a shiv. His mood lessen, but only slightly due to envy. "I gotta get me one of those!", he said as he retracted his switchblade and placed it back into his boot. He looks onward towards his side, narrowing his eyes. He drags his right leg behind him, only to shift his weight back on it. His left leg lifted off the ground and curled up almost to his chest as he connects both his now free hands behind his back. His chakra surged, now gathering in his right balled up fist. He then lurches forward after slinging his right fist forward. Now on his left leg, releasing a wave of pressurized air 20 meters in diameter towards the horde. The results were destructive to say the least. He altered it to where the cone would expand outwards 10 meters ahead of him. Limiting the risk of friendly fire. But once it expanded, it crashed into the horde and the earth. the ground now perfectly hollowed out semi circle. with a diameter matching that of the Evening elephant technique. Of course he launched a few more blasts! Despite his attitude, Katsuragi loved working as a team. One of the greatest joys in his life were pulling off a successful heist with good planning and execution.

"Huh, the fuck is that?", taking cue from one of the teammates as he takes a moment to look out yonder. It was like the four horsemen itself, slowly approaching the group behind the mob. Them seemed pretty savage too, offing their own minions like fodder. 'Damn..., these fuckers aint here to fuck around. They out for blood...', his thoughts interrupted upon catching the images of all four, two were well known to him. "WHAT THE FUCK? LUCKY?! HEY WAIT A MINUTE!", he yells. After using the process of elimination... It had to be the sword. Who else knew of him before hand? YOU SON OF BITCH! It's you aint it! Oh my...", he glances over to the sword. The snakes perk up once more with bright light eyes.

"You know what, screw the red head! I wanna fight lucky!", he scurries over to the duck's side comically with high knee strides as he broke formation. "This guy is jacked up in the head, you should have seen what he was asking me to do back in the cloud! He's the guy with the horseshoe on his head! Yep mhmm!", The snakes nod in unison as well "sis sis sis".. Of course he would fall back if the team disagreed. Although he had some issues, Katsuragi wanted out of this place. The sooner the better.
---
TWC/ 2473

As introductions were being shifted around, it appeared that one of the four was known. Though it appeared it was not reciprocated. Considering the space they were in shifted their forms, or they themselves caused the change it was uncertain. Appearing as a scarecrow, something to ward off pests, as a huntress it was not a wild leap in logic. From there it was ascertained to provide a modicum of knowledge of each other to make their venture more fruitful as it would be difficult to reach out to the others in times of need if they did not have some fashion of identity. It was then hearing of locations that Kurai noted that this group was all over the place, with the closest being the individual known as Katsuragai.

“Kurai Koutaishi, currently I’m in Konohagakure, though up till recently I was actually also in Tanzaku Town.” She stated, her voice soft in contrast to the body made of hay. She said it looking at the medusan-man wondering if their paths had crossed. His commentary lead her to believe that they had not but that was not to say that in the world of the waking that they had not. With that in mind, it left the one with some knowledge of the other to vocalize their recognition of Katsuragi. Kurai was curious where this last individual was from as she wanted to press the group for questions as perhaps wherever these three were, well except Katsuragi since he was nearby where she was, if they had seen her sister. Unfortunately this was not the time to be asking those kinds of questions. Hopefully once this was all over there would be enough time. She hoped for sure that one of them might have seen her.

When Katsuragi complained about their body being left unattended, Kurai could not stifle a laugh from escaping their scarecrow body. “I think the fear of our own bodies and the potential doom that’s overhead is enough to deter looters right now.” The Phantom Scarecrow chimed in. Hearing the words from Akabayashi, the Ducktor, Kurai nodded in understanding. “Konohagakure suffered quite a bit leading up to this development. I’m sure there are others fighting elsewhere in this Dreamscape, be it of Dreams or Nightmares.” She took note that somehow the capacity of the Ducktor was overlap or overlayed somehow in their own way. The fact they were capable of seeing between the planes of reality was an astounding accomplishment even though she herself was unsure of how. Likely a trick that he would avoid exposing, especially considering it appeared the lot of them were not local to each other. Except they were apparently local enough between Kurai and Katsuragi and then Katsuragi and Saturn.

Once the creatures began to form against the group, Kurai tested out her own abilities as the hay from her body acted like her threads. Giving a nod in affirmation, she formed seals as a quiver and arrows conjured onto her back as more seals would produce a hay-formed bow. Properly equipped it was time to see what this all was about. She then remembered how overwhelmed she and Konoha’s Shinobi were at some points and opted to perform shadow clones to add to their force within the Land of Nightmares. Multiple arrows began to fly, reaching and aimed at the furthest of creatures in hopes to weaken them or eliminate before they could get closer to the group. As everyone began to showcase their own unique capabilities, Kurai remained towards the center of the group, proving supporting fire and cover for them to be able to proceed in whatever direction they were going unimpeded. From arrows drew more concerns as the group began to see what appeared to be a mix of results. Seeing Alabayashi’s masks off the body of the duck grow and began to unleash a slew of elements caught Kurai’s attention. “You’re like me…” she murmured as the figures the Ducktor indicated began to take proper form and shape. It was beginning to look like the realm they were in was not going to let them get away with their own plans. It was quite a feat to see as the group continued and handle the waves as the entities in the distance gave form and began to show that they were forms of themselves.

Kurai’s focus was split in between watching Akabayashi and the others. Paying attention to the Ducktor’s abilities was something she was curious about. The masked beasts that came from the form seemed to be expected and it boiled down to a few abstract concepts and thoughts as they unleashed their respective powers. It was a wild consideration of what the others could too. Their attention turning towards Katsuragi after assessing the dangers that Akabayashi was capable of handling without much worry. In contrast to the control and methodical process, the Medusa-man’s weapon of choice was a toothpick in comparison to the construct the avian made. His excitement was contagious in the concept of awe to the capacity and power that was possessed yet even then, Katsuragi unleashed a pressurized punch of some kind as a massively large force began to overwhelm the incoming beasts. In comparison the arrows that Kurai launched outward were the real toothpicks of the affair. Even with her peppering most everything eventually her arrows dwindled and their capacity was limited in comparison to the others. Turning to view Saturn’s progress, it was indicative that she was the lowest on the capacity scale for them but in some ways that was fine by her, the Scarecrow Phantom’s purpose most of the time was hiding away in some capacity and shooting from afar.

Once the entities fully formed form the plethora of waves, the others began to talk and discussed the concern and validity of capacity began to become clear to her. Her nightmare version that began to form was likely more dangerous than her. If it was a true copy of her, thankfully she was not fully equipped as her time had not let her develop her skill set that much. However, she was aware that she herself could be slippery and with the rules of the dreamscape being uncertain, there was no telling if she had the same powers but stronger in the Land of Nightmares. That was when recognizing the issues of their skill sets were going to become an issue. First the Ducktor indicated close ranged fighter would be best against the red head that formed with black floating orbs around him. The man looked like danger, like a man who would dissemble a walking scarecrow for the sake to see if it had organs making it move. Shudders in her hay gave her an understanding that, that match up likely was not the best for her. Her physical capacity was not as developed as her ranged focus but her threads would be a problem. Hearing the recognition from Katsuragi, it appeared that fourth individual in their entourage was in fact someone they knew and recognized. As much as one could pass some things off nonchalantly, it was easy to see from his desire to fight the alternative, nightmare, version of their friend.

“With that in mind. I’m capable of more archery and bowmanship style of fighting. I have some defensive techniques and an affinity to earth chakra for now. I have some skills to allow me to benefit from others if they lend me their chakra and likewise I have a few ways to try to escape. I also have threads that will come out of my and can be a problem if not physically inclined. Considering this is a dreamscape, I am unsure how useful the earth techniques will be but if there’s preferences on handling specific ones, I might have the best luck against his double.” She said pointing towards the gambling Medusa-man. She was certain with a high degree of understanding that someone would need to help them just due to what limitations she had. She was still figuring out her own abilities and being not from Konhagakure no Sato, training and support of her own capacities was not anything formal. Tracking and hunting down small game was equally a pass time and her way of learning and training. “If our nightmare versions have our knowledge base and could be improved versions… my counterpart might have lightning and fire techniques I’m not aware of.” They included looking towards the Ducktor. Perhaps he would understand and be a good candidate to handling Kurai’s abilities and archery. With consideration of how vicious the opponents were off the bat, it would not surprise Kurai if they too also had something else up their sleeves.

That was then when the Scarecrow Phantom came to the realization of the fact that if this was true to the idea of swapping for each other to have a better fight and odd, it out Kurai against Natsuragi, Katsuragi against Naturn, Saturn against Nakabayashi since he was not inclined to fight himself, leaving Akabayashi to fight Nurai. The match ups of the cast of the the Misadventures of the Ducktor, Medusa-Man, Scarecrow Phantom, and the Floating Ghost Sword versus the Four Horsemares of the Dreaming Apocalypse were going to be one for the ages. One you could only see and imagine in your dreams. It was when the confirmation was needed that Kurai’s thoughts lingered heavily as she was unsure if she could overcome the nightmare version of her opponent. She would need to be tricky and perhaps very underhanded.

WC: 1,600, TWC: 2,200 | TMWC: 7,849 / 17,500 (2,200 / 4,375 WC for Quarter Portion.)

"From where..?" The sword's mind drifted as it struggled to recall how it came to be in the 'scape. Its memories were two. One version had a recollection of him meeting a different version of Medusa-man on a hill overlooking a prison facility. The other one only knew that it came from the sea. Their collective memory seemed to have unexplainable gaps upon retrospection, but one thing was clear - they were from a stormy village, where dark clouds always hung over the horizon. They tutted at Katsuragi's nonchalant response and shifted their attention towards the ominous cascade of eldritch horrors descending upon the group. With no time to waste, the floating sword took a fighting stance - slanting towards the enemies. 

Before it could make its move, the Ducktor had summoned a giant wooden golem. Saturn watched in awe as swarms of monsters were swatted like flies. "Whew.. Looks like the Duck has this covered." He whistled, and thought he chose to stay still and let the grown up handle the situation. Then the sword jerked towards the spawning shadows. Saturn pulled back, causing the sword to jerk around in the air, narrowly missing their newfound allies.

"What the fuck is going on..." Its blade-like teeth gritted in its silver mouth as its body flung around, attempting to go in two directions at the same time. "Cor blimey, what the bleeding 'ell is happening?" A second voice boomed out from the metal. "What in the world?!" The sword twisted as it endeavored to pull its own body apart, finding itself in the midst of a cluster of beasts. Tentacles entwined around the blade as heavy fists, the size of boulders, pounded on the metal, shaping it into new forms. They took a thrashing, subjected to relentless blows from rock-hard fists to sharp, painful boots, from thick whipping tails to sharp, piercing teeth. The world spun around them, and as they glimpsed the bottom of a giant phantom foot, Saturn wheezed before uttering his last words. "Long live Kumogakure!" echoed by the second voice in the very same breath, "Blimey, you've gone and done us in!"

By some miracle, the sword radiated a blinding white aura, causing the one-eyed giant to stagger just before its colossal foot could crush the blade. Its white silhouette morphed as it radiated audio waves comprised of suspenseful music. The shape of the sword seemed to split into two behind the basking white light. And then one. And then two. "Gah!" Grimsight covered its ears, unable to bear the symphonies emanating from the duo, its one eye on the middle of its head shutting tight. When the melody finally ended with an upbeat conclusion, the white light disappeared to reveal two identical swords! 


They shared a common hilt, but the distinction was clear. "Uranus!" Saturn wailed at his counterpart, recognizing his water clone immediately. As the colossal foot descended, the duo of swords darted in opposite directions, narrowly escaping the impending doom as the cyclops ruthlessly smashed down on their combined hilt. The blades twirled swiftly through the air, severing the tendons above both ankles of the towering giant causing it to collapse. With the cyclops defeated, the unity between the two swords dissolved as abruptly as it manifested.

---

As the swords sliced through the shadows, evading the attacks from the wooden golem behind them, they clashed with each other between kills, bickering words of provocation. "Couldn't dodge that one, could you, water clone?" Saturn taunted as their blades struck each other, his voice edged with cruel disdain.  Uranus retorted sharply, in its shrill high pitched voice as they collided with each other once again, ringing the sound of metallic reverberations, "Oi, keep an eye on yer steps, wota clone, shadow clone, or you'll be the next one in the scrap heap!"

In the abyssal depths of the ominous battleground, Saturn and Uranus, transformed into sentient swords, engaged in an otherworldly and unrelenting clash. The air resonated with an eerie hum as the duo got into a dance of blades amidst the encroaching horde of monstrous shadows.

Saturn's silvery blade shone with an ethereal light, reflecting the chaotic energy pulsating through the nightmarish realm. Uranus, adorned in a radiant silver hue, moved with a fluid grace that seamlessly blended with the surrounding shadows. The grotesque and otherworldly monsters manifested in various forms—some with twisted limbs, others with maws dripping an otherworldly ichor. They surged forward like a tide, their wails and growls merging into a dissonant symphony. As the initial wave of monsters closed in, Saturn and Uranus moved in an unsynchronized harmony. The silver blades sliced through the air with unlikely precision, creating an intricate pattern of slashes and parries as they tried to cut down every beast, while avoiding the stabs from each other. Each strike met a retaliatory move from the monsters, their grotesque forms writhing and contorting as if fueled by the very essence of darkness, and another swing from their counterpart. The battleground transformed into a canvas for the pair of swords, who like pens drew black blood from the otherworldly terrors around them, while every clash with each other produced sparks of distorted energy. The metallic symphony of the clashing swords echoed through the abyss, accompanied by the cacophony of monstrous roars and the unsettling sounds of their malformed bodies colliding.

Within the telepathic realm, in Saturn's delusional mind, now residing within one sentient blade, was a whirlwind of thoughts and strategies. His consciousness melded with the weapon, granting an intimate connection with its every movement. Uranus, the water clone, exhibited a unique finesse, its blade flowing through the air like a liquid extension of its will while its form took shape as a blue contruct before Saturn in his realm. Banter between them echoed in the telepathic realm as they exchanged taunts amidst the chaos, making it a three front battle.

As the battle unfolded, the monsters multiplied, overwhelming the duo. Saturn and Uranus found themselves surrounded, the encroaching shadows threatening to consume them. In response, they adapted, their blades becoming a dazzling display of martial prowess. Saturn's blade caused the realm to shake with each heavy thrust, shattering fragments of the 'scape seemingly freezing its eldritch beasts in place while Uranus' blade spun around to form a vortex, forming a ferocious dragon that devoured the beasts in its path. Sensing their power, the monsters unleashed more formidable attacks. Tentacles lashed out, claws swiped, and gaping maws snapped hungrily. Yet, the sentient swords remained elusive, a testament to their uncanny synergy. Each approaching monster found itself met with a whirlwind of slashes, its form disintegrating into shadows that dissipated into the malevolent atmosphere. The battleground transformed into a surreal dance floor, where blades twirled and spun with mesmerizing grace. Saturn and Uranus were both berserking, weaving through the phantoms in their wake with ease. It was only when they struck each other, did their blades come to momentary pauses.

Amidst the chaos, a colossal shadow emerged—a towering monstrosity with multiple limbs and a grotesque visage. This formidable adversary, a manifestation of only seventeen percent of the realm's malevolence, loomed over the battlefield, casting a dark shadow over the ongoing struggle. Undeterred, Saturn and Uranus shifted their focus to the looming threat. The sentient swords, bound by an unspoken understanding, dove into the heart of the encroaching darkness, blades poised to confront the very embodiment of the eldritch nightmare. As the unnamed colossal adversary loomed, its multiple limbs casting grotesque shadows that danced with unsettling rhythm, Saturn and Uranus, undeterred by the foe, synchronized their movements in perfect harmony. The silver blades whirred through the air, leaving trails of radiant streaks that clashed against the oppressive darkness.

The unnamed colossal adversary unleashed a torrent of attacks, each limb moving with unnatural fluidity, its joints double jointed. Segmented tentacles lashed out like serpentine tendrils, like giant spines seeking to ensnare the sentient swords and break them in halves. Saturn and Uranus responded with a seamless dance, their blades intercepting the assault with a calculated array of precise parries. Sparks flew as metal clashed against shadow, the intensity creating shockwaves that rippled through the eldritch realm.

Sensing an opportunity, the monsters rallied around the unnamed colossal adversary, forming a larger crowd that threatened to overwhelm the duo with their sheer numbers. Surrounded on all sides, Saturn and Uranus embraced the challenge, but not before the latter tried once again to stab Saturn in the back. Saturn ducked - bending forward - and took a swipe at Uranus from behind only to miss narrowly. They would not have the privilege to discuss their exchange, as the swarm of shadows threatened to devour them. soon. Saturn drove himself into the ground, creating a shockwave that staggered the approaching swarm, and also froze Uranus in place. He grinned, and his counterpart got launched in a straight line, cutting holes where the hearts of each member of a line of monsters would be.

As the unnamed colossal adversary staggered, and Uranus lied on the ground beneath the beast, Saturn seized the opportunity. The silver blade pointed upwards, launching Uranus up into the unnamed colossal adversary's skull from underneath. The eldritch nightmare roared, its form convulsing as radiant energy consumed it. The monsters around the unnamed colossal adversary dissipated into ethereal wisps, only for the wisps to grow stems and shoots, spawning more unnamed adversaries of varying forms and sizes.

---

"They just keep on coming, Uranus.." Saturn let out a groan and a heavy sigh, turning his attention towards the four peculiar figures taking form in front of the group, taking the forms of the 'scape's wakepeople diaspora. Two of the phantoms were familiar - one was Uranus, no, Saturn, or was it Uranus, and the other was the second Yamanaka among the group. He nodded along diligently, sensing the sense in the Duck's plan to swap.

His mouth gaped half open as he stared into the abyssal horizon, upon being asked by the Ducktor  if any among the group were good with Taijutsu or weaponry. "That's right.. I am a weaponry.. user.." The sword panted, catching his breath, before taking a long and deep inhalation to shake off the fatigue through his sheer will alone. "I will execute to the best of my abilities... Black orbs... Got it.."

Saturn turned towards the Jashinist, who seemed to be getting riled up to fight Lucky's phantom. He resisted the petty urge to turn his attention towards Katsuragi's clone, and contemplated on the group's circumstances when the Duck asked if any of them were willing to be so forthcoming as to share their weaknesses. He thought long and hard, but not really. "Nah.. I'm sure E.U. can figure it out." He smirked. Before Saturn lined up the optimal trajectory to the red haired phantom's heart, he glanced over at his water clone counterpart to see how his evil twin was faring.

Uranus was uncharacteristically silent - his gaze fixed sternly on the figure resembling him the most. The air around him crackled with an aura of suspense, with a dash of existential dread. He  stayed frozen, waiting in anticipation for the phantom to do something interesting.


"Nah, I'd come out on top, mate. Dental flossers ye lot. Taking the gypsy." The phantom spoke in a high shrill voice, identical to that of the water clone's. Uranus screamed out valiantly, "I'm the bleedin' real one! I clocked it, didn't I, and I thought I was going radio.. rental.." His words sounded like gibberish, but they agitated Saturn.

"That's a fucking water clone, Katsuragi." Saturn boomed, "Water Clone is a variant of the Shadow Clone Jutsu. The clones, once created, act on their own free will, being able to fight and use their own actions. The clones can damage, but the clone will dispel in a puff of smoke if dealt a fatal blow. They do not carry over any active buffs. It can't use any real hard hitters.." Uranus attacked Saturn between words to sabotage his sabotage, but his words went through between sweeps and thrusts.

In one last desperate attempt to claim his free will, Uranus launched itself at Katsuragi's throat. Saturn cussed, but it was too late. A black, ominous orb punched a hole through Uranus, except his body wasn't thick enough to sustain the hole. Instead, its whole structure was altered, being broken in half. The last words Uranus uttered into the abyss spiralled both inward and outward simultaneously, resembling a torus, as his world collapsed upon itself for an eternity. "Finally.. Free at last.."


Saturn beelined towards the red haired figure in a blind rage, while his counterpart phantom Uranus 2.0 headed straight for Katsuragi, holding his axe, the Minotaur's Labrys with his metal prosthetic Mano de Plata, a weapon in its own right. 

"The one to put a hole in Uranus.. was supposed to be me asshole!" Saturn wailed valiantly with vengeance on his mind, while weaving through wicked waves of black orb attacks veering towards his vicinity, warding them off with his wily finesse on his way to narrow the width between his sword vessel and the red haired villain.

"Oi, mate, brace yerself for a right wallop! Yuh!" Uranus the second shrieked, narrowing the gap between him and Katsuragi as he passed Saturn.

---

WC: 2222
TWC: 3378

---

Akabayashi had not remembered himself touching any of these glowing green objects before falling asleep as Katsuragi had... Like a dream it had been hard to recall the memory of the dream that woke you fresh in your mind yet fading to completely forgetting it as the moments passed. One of his scrolls had glown green a scroll he could see with his conscience body his path. What would happen if he destroyed the cause of his presence in this land of nightmare? He had to wonder, but he would save the idea for later as it was likely his tether to this world its destruction would either expel him or trap him here. Either way he had to figure out what was going on here to save his village and Hoshi. "I touched a glowing scroll before I was here." As he said this his path picked up the scroll, so no one else could. He would not tell them his many ideas on what he planned to do with it. Shred it, throw it into the rift, read it, the list went on and on, but there were no clear outcomes for any choice he could make, so he was content to use these plans for when things looked grim. 


Two people seemed to be from Tanzaku in the land of fire, yet it wasn't these two that were the ones who knew eachother. It wouldn't be until later when the sword started yelling "For Kumogakure!" That they would figure out where this one was from. He also yelled "Uranus" which was a place, but one unlikely that someone was abducted from. He also seemed to be arguing with himself different variations of clones, but why would clones argue with the original? It was quite odd, but the whole situation they had found themselves in was odd. What was a little more weirdness into the fold of whatever the hell was happening already.The pair of blades was a whirlwind of slashes whether the blades were independent or one really crazy dude who spoke to himself via clones was still up in the air, but his skill was not. 


The Medusa man was a flurry of punches and kicks. Sending waves of pressurized air crashing into their enemies. The force required to make an air current like that, have it travel, and then still have enough force to bludgeon these creatures to death on impact was incredible. The ducktor would avoid those fists and legs as long as possible he would not want to get in the way of a display of strength such as that. He could feel the wind atop his monster even if it was not aimed at him it wasn't like power like that went a set distance then just magically stopped.


The last member of the group was like a team of archers raining fire down upon groups or even individuals of the enemies. She used shadow clones based on the seal and him not seeing a hint of what element she was using with his rinnegan. It seemed she recognized the masked beasts and claimed they were alike. He had met other Tau before some dead some living, it seemed more were popping up all the time. The last one he had met had not yet obtained any hearts to unlock the power of their bloodline based on the use of archery instead of elemental manipulation this one had not either, but perhaps that was a good thing with the clone she had forming. 


After the deaths of so many monsters and the figures came into view the unlikely team of sword, Medusa, scarecrow, and duck began to strategize at least some of them anyway. The Medusa said fuck the red head as he was going to fight Lucky. He wanted to know what Lucky the guy with the horseshoe in his head asked, but based on him talking to himself and fighting with his clone he had a pretty good guess it was something crazy. "I have a guess it was something insane based on well him, but right now we are on the same side. I hope you find some joy in mercilessly killing a copy of him." The swords had individual plans between themselves or itself Akabayashi still wasn't sure it sounded like out loud the plan was for them to fight his clone, but one sword launched itself at the one who was obviously the Medusa man's clone since he called it Katsuragi. It was then killed by a truth seeking orb going through its chest. The death of this clone upset the real one and another clone. They split their efforts between the Akabayashi clone and the Katsuragi clone. A name which was quite familiar in the bingo book, perhaps the doctor would offer him a business deal when this was done for now the ducktor honestly did not know what to do as one of their team was clearly bonkers. He also said they could figure out his shortcomings it was the one known as Katsuragi fighting him, so perhaps through his familiarity he was already aware. If Akabayashi were fighting him he probably would try to convince this clone it was the real one or the clone.


"I will fight the other Tau I guess." He knew that the only element the clone had was earth, so the bow was the bigger issue. He would move up along with close range fighters, but still back compared to them. He would stop ten meters before his opponent who would shoot arrows, but he had protection in the form of the ten black orbs which circled him and disintegrated the arrows as they came. Once, close enough he sprouted wooden tendrils that would circle him and crash against the ground it seemed his clone did not like this plan of his as it sent an orb to topple that part of the jutsu that would hit the girl had she not moved, but she did and fired arrows for the ducktor's face as the trees moved to form a wall to protect him. For the crazy dude since he had protection for the arrows now he would move his orbs to assist blocking the clone version from ever hitting the mad swordsman. When the other Tau moved too far for the tendrils to slam he moved and parted the trees enough for him to stick his finger through and fired another beam of energy which was enough to take the Tau out. It was like a normal clone hit it once and it was down for the count. If the others had not finished their fights he would of course share this information. For now he would help the other Tau by using earth techniques making every seal clear to her before tearing up the ground and killing whatever monster was trying to attack her. He would assist the other two using his truth seeking orbs to block. He had to wonder if seals applied to himself transferred to the clone, but he did not have to wonder long as when the clone was about to recieve its fatal blow it did not use its chakra armor. 


When the clones were destroyed the voice from the sky returned. "I have to do everything myself it seems. Fight my avatar dream walkers!" Oh, they were fighting an avatar not even the being behind this mess. When it was dead it did not even mean this nightmare was over as they were fighting but a piece of a whole being. "I grow tired of fighting your lackeys face us yourself!" Of course it did not answer. "Perhaps you can not fight us yourself as others are awake and fighting elsewhere, so you have split yourself like clones to handle the ones who can act within your domain." Just a taunt, but the lack of an answer to it told the doctor he was partially correct, but even a no from the nightmare would have told him the same. Either way this guys winged avatar was here to takeover the fight for the being which caused this mess. 



"Well we have to kill this thing to continue and it seems the monsters are coming back for more." The Terumi looked around the swirling dust in the air taking on the form of different monsters once more. "I can handle the hordes my attacks are best suited for wide range destruction than single target precision." He would launch his masked beasts at the hordes in different directions and they would spear creatures with their tendrils and shoot jutsu of their respective element without effort. The hordes were easy to handle in smaller waves, but the number made it quite difficult to handle. The others in the group could handle the avatar easier with its monsters distracted. 


The sea of monsters was endless, if the avatar was not defeated quickly Akabayashi would have to resort to using his seals and pills for more energy and after that his guesswork. If they had not defeated the avatar by the time he was gassed he would have his path set fire to the glowing green scroll which had brought him here. With luck this would sever the astrophysicist's connection to this world and drag him back into the waking world. He knew this would not solve the crisis the word was going through, but losing to the avatar of nightmare also would not solve it either. Either way he did not know anyone among them or owe them anything if he had to abandon them to save himself well that was something he would do without hesitation. He used wood golem, so he could regain energy with his Jugo DNA while sitting atop the giant's shoulder. It hurled rocks and swept its massive arms swatting the monstere or crushing them as it walked. Those that managed to climb the giant were stabbed or thrown by whipping threads coming out of the ducks body. After a good amount of time had passed and the doctor was ready to activate seals for further energy he could hear the shriek and cursing of the nightmare realms avatar. Whether it fell by blade, fist, arrow, or jutsu impact he did not see. He knew that if the real one was to follow they were still in a world of shit.


This however did not seem to be the case. With the defeat of the avatar came a silence as the monsters which had snarled, roared, and howled fell silent and unmoving. They dispersed into dust with the death of the avatar. Had the lord of this realm given up or was he simply saving some power to finish them off later. From its words earlier the being was quite preoccupied with others as well who were trying to escape. Perhaps it was focusing on the ones who could not defeat the avatar to add to his dreamland army. Either way all that was left were the medusa man, sword dude or dudes, scarecrow, and the odd duck. Oh yeah, and the gaping holes in reality that were all around them now along with objects outlined in ghoulish green. Some so close you could see through them into the waking world, Akabayashi could see himself through one of the holes and he assumed some of the other tears showed his current companions. "I assume these are our exits, but there are more holes than four here. Do we close the other rifts before we go?" He would ask if they said no he would probably dive through his portal without a second thought. If the nightmare came back to finish the job and removed the portal back he was probably screwed.


If they agreed he would touch a floating purple book highlighted in the same color as the object which connected him here. The book opened to reveal its writing, but he was not reading it he was living it. A diary of a person who suffered and wrote of their torment. They came to this nightmare world and the lord of the plane grew stronger eating their pain. Akabayashi lived their pain through their writing and when the tale was done he was back shocked by the experience. Looking upon the strange writing he could now see two words "Help us" what help though was the question if it was in defeating the nightmare it had already been done. He could see a sword trapped in stone through one of the portals and there weas a word left to decipher. He would touch one more object this one a blanket. It pulled him into a closet which opened slightly and the child on the other side screamed in terror at the twisted blue duck stepping out of it. The scream brought the concerned parents who flicked on the light, but could not see the blue duck which scared the child. After that the doctor was back to the nightmare world and he could read the final word "escape". If the others had done the same as he had in touching the nightmares they would hear him as he said "Help us escape." If they had not done so all they would hear is gibberish as if the strange writing on the wall had become audible. 


"How do I help them escape?" He would think for a bit and remember the portal with the sword in it and the sword which contained the nightmare. He would grasp the sword which would not show him its nightmare and throw it through the portal which would close. "I think we have to match the nightmares to the portals." He would take the book and look through the portals this one was hard to figure out, so he would put it down and grab the blanket. The portal showing a bed with and open closet had to be the right one for it. So, he tossed the object through and closed the portal. When the others had closed their own portals had they chose to. He would find the portal for the book a desk with pens lined upon it. He would throw the book through. With only four portals remaining he would know the obvious next step. Waving goodbye he would step through the portal with his body and wake up.

WC: 2422
TWC: 4442/4375

Claims: 42,750 mission ryo, 70,000 rank (kage) ryo, 10,600 AP conversion ryo (212AP from mission rewards x50), 130 dream tokens, and a dream waiver.
Will get WC Claims later.

Approved