Nightmare On Elm Street.

I went to sleep last night, and entered my subconscious. It was to be my battleground against the Reverie. Justin awaited me.

"You ready for this?" he asked.
"Ready as I'll ever be," I replied.
"Good to hear," said another voice behind us. The Reverie had arrived.
"I'm gonna destroy you," I said.
"Good luck with that," he replied. "I'm sure you're aware of how much power I have here. Defeating you will be no problem."
"You'll have to face both of us!" Justin said, summoning his scythe.
"Great!" the Reverie said. "A challenge!"

The sky was suddenly flooded by monsters, dive-bombing us left and right. He had our work cut out for us. No matter how many we killed, the Reverie just summoned more. We were severely outnumbered. I did the only thing I could think of, and charged straight at the Reverie. His demons squished together in front of me, forming a hideous, living wall between me and him. Then Malkator showed up. He conjured a bolt of lightning that broke through the wall.

"Was that mana?" I asked him.
"Yeah," he said. "Go get him before he forms another barricade."
"Got it," I said.

I charged and started fighting the Reverie head on. He absorbed a bunch of his monsters, doubling in size. I kept fighting him, but he was too strong. He grew larger, and larger. He was at least twenty feet tall. Luckily for him, a stray lightning bolt from Malkator hit his shoulder. It didn't hurt him much, but it distracted him long enough for me to get on the offensive. I summoned a chain, and tangled up his legs with it, bringing him down. I then summoned some brass knuckles and began repeatedly hitting his face. It wasn't long before he threw me off. He stood up, ready to stomp on me, but he was hit in the chest, full force, by a massive ball of fire launched my Malkator. He fell off the edge of the ship. The demons all disappeared. I looked over the edge of the ship, but there was no sign of the Reverie. I turned back to Malkator. He had this insane look on his face. I approached him.

"He man, you okay?" I asked. He answered by throwing a fireball at my face that I barely managed to dodge. "Whoa, dude, chill out," I said.
"Don't tell me to chill out!" he shouted, hitting me with a blast of cold that chilled me to the bone. He proceeded to push me over and began kicking me.
"Stop!" I shouted.

It wasn't getting through to him. Justin attacked him from behind, but he effortlessly defeated the attack and sent Justin flying. I got up and put him in a full nelson.

"Calm down!" I said. "Keep it together, man!"

His body ignited. I was being scorched, but I held on as best as I could. "I'm your friend! Don't do this! Don't let the mana control you!"
"Shut up!" he commanded, as the flamed grew hotter. I summoned more chains to try and hold him.
"Don't give up!" I said. "I know you're still in there! Listen to me!"
The flames started to go down. It was working.
"Come on, fight it," I encouraged him. "The Ace Of Chaos told you about mana because he thought you could control it. You're not going to prove him wrong, are you?"

The flames died out, and he fell to the ground. Justin came over and leaned us both against a wall. I was pretty burnt up.

"How bad is it?" I asked.
"This are all mental wounds," Justin said. "As long as you don't die, you'll be able to recover."
"I'm sorry," Malkator said. "I lost control back there."
"It's okay," I said.
"No, it's not," he said. "I'm not cut out to wield mana. I tried to use it without practicing, and I let the power consume me."
"Hey, Rome wasn't built in a day," I told him. "You'll be able to control it some day. You just have to take it slowly and avoid going overboard again."
"If I hadn't regained control when I did, I would have destroyed your subconscious and killed you," he said.
"But you didn't," I said. "You did display some control back there."
"Not enough," he said, miserably.
"Okay, encouragement's not working," I said, standing up. Then I punched him really hard in the face. "There! We're even now! So suck it up and keep going! You agreed to take on Bill tomorrow, and you'll never be able to pull in off if you just sit around moping inside my subconscious."
"Heh, you're right," he said. "I'll see you later. And from now on, I'll try to keep my mana under control." Then he vanished.
"I guess violence is the only way to get through to guys like him," I said.


Then I woke up and started typing this.

Thorns And Poison

Made it to Sacramento. I found the Plague Doctor waiting on top of a hospital.

"I'm here to stop you," I said. It simply stared ahead, without paying any attention to me.

I drew my Wakizashi and charged. A bunch of red roots grew from the beneath me and entangled my legs. I turned to see that Ren was there. I hacked at the roots. He sprouted a thorn sword and ran toward me. I fought back, and we became locked in battle. While we were facing each other, the Plague Doctor began his job. A cloud of purple and green smoke billowed from his robes. I started coughing. Ren on the other hand, coated his mouth and nose with bark, and sprouted black leaves from his shoulders.

"What-?" I started to asked, but I had a coughing fit before I could finish.
"This poison only effects oxygen breathers," Ren said. "I can photosynthesize, making me immune. You, however, aren't so lucky."

I coughed some more. I was dying. The poison was too strong. Then I heard the other me inside my head.

Use the Plague Doctor's power, he said.
What? I asked. How are you talking to me?
We're the same person, he said. We share a unique bond. Now listen, you can use the Plague Doctor's abilities to create an anti poison to counter the poison you're inhaling. They'll cancel each other out.

I didn't no what to do, so I just tried thinking about the Plague Doctor. Nothing happened.

You have to let your adrenaline flow, the other me said.

I tried. I let myself get angry. And then I started feeling different. The poison's effect were wearing off. I had done it. My body was fighting it.

Good, the other me said. Now, kill Ren.
What!? I thought.
You have to, he said. You have no idea what he will become.
No! I thought. I can get through to him! I don't know what you saw him become, but I know I can prevent it from happening!

"Ren!" I said. "Don't do this! You don't have to help this creep!"
"Yes I do," he said. "In order to defeat Slender Man,  need to help my master."
"You're better than this!" I said. "I get that you were wronged by the Entity, but by doing this, you're just wronging others. You don't have to be a villain. You can fight Slender Man without putting innocent people in danger."
"Sh-shut up!" he demanded, clutching his head.
"There's still good in you," I said. "Please, help me stop all this."

He looked me in the eyes, and hesitated for a while. Then, a look of determination crossed over what could be seen of his face. He turned to the Plague Doctor. Both is arms turned to wood and expanded, and he attacked. He fought with the Doctor, but the Doctor started producing a new poison, one which Ren wasn't immune to. His leaves wilted and he collapsed. I charged at the Plague Doctor with my sword. He raised a snake shaped cane to defend himself. He started releasing more poisons.

"There's a difference between me and Ren," I said. "By mimicking your powers,I can adapt to your poisons."
"Not all of them," he hissed.

He released a new poison, one that I couldn't fight. I had to beat him before it finished me. My sword burst into flames, and I sliced through his cane, then slashed him across the face. His bird mask split in two and fell to the ground. What was beneath almost made me vomit. I can't even begin to describe what his face looked like. He vanished, and the clouds of poison disappeared with him. I had won. I ran over to make sure Ren was okay.

"What happened?" he asked.
"We did it," I said. "We beat the Plague Doctor."
"I see," he said, getting up and opening a portal into the Path Of Black Leaves. "For the record, this doesn't make us allies. I still plan to kill Slender Man, and I will not hesitate to destroy anything that stands in my way."

And then he was gone. As he left, shadows rose from behind me, and Bill appeared.

"You meddlesome bastard!" he hissed. I could see that the shadows that spread over more of his body.
"I can't just stand by and let you destroy the world," I said.
"You and that demi god have stopped six of my plagues," he said. "But I won't let you prevent the others!"

He summoned his sword and charged at me, but the other me decided to show up. He clashed with Bill, and he screamed in his face. I couldn't hear it, but Bill seemed to. He stumbled back, clutching his head in agony. It was as if he had focused the sound so that only Bill caught the full blast of it. As a matter of fact, that's probably exactly what he did. Bill faded into the shadows.

"You were a fool to let Ren live," he said to me. "The world would be better without him."
"I don't believe that," I said stubbornly. "Anyway, if you know how all of this goes down, why can't you step in and help more often?"
"Things are happening a little differently than they did for me," he said. "Besides, I have Emissaries to deal with. I'm sure you heard what happened to HELLFIRE, right?"
"Estren lost him," I said.
"He's been imprisoned inside the mind of one of the Game Master's servants," he said. "The plagues aren't the only thing going on right now. I have to go now. I trust that you can handle the grotesque." Then he vanished.

That's right. The Grotesque. The next location for me is the subconscious, on the 30th. I have to throw down with the Reverie.

Swarm

Warped to Egypt. Again, painful. I hate the Godsway. Anyway, Suez was supposed to be where the 3rd plague would start. And of course, I soon saw him. A man carrying around a large stone gourd. I approached him from behind.

"Haji!" I called to him.
He turned around and said something in Egyptian.
"No hablo Egypt, pal," I said. "You speak English, right?"
"Yes," he said. "Who are you and how do you know my name?"
"My name is Daniel," I said. "And I know that you serve the Intrusion."
He chuckled. "So you're the one who wants to stop the plagues?" he asked.
"That's right," I said. "Call off the Intrusion. I may have hesitated when I fought the Blood Vessel, but I have no problem beating the hell out of a guy."
"I serve the Intrusion," he said. "It's not the other way around. I can't call them off, and you can't make me."
"Then let me talk to them," I said. "I'll convince them myself."
"They won't listen," he said. "They listen to no mortals."
"And what about Bill Dawson?" I asked. "They listened to him."
"He is no normal human," he replied.
"Neither am I," I said. "I want to speak to the Intrusion."
"Even if you do speak to them, you will be unable to dissuade them," he said. The swarm will begin within the hour. You'd best seek cover if you want to survive."

He fled. I lost him in the crowd. I ran for as long as I could. I was running out of time. But then I saw them. Birds began to flock toward the city, in huge numbers. The Convocation had arrived to back me up. Then I heard a familiar voice call down to me.

"Hey Danny!" Crow called from atop a building. "The birds found him! Come with me!"

He tossed down the end of his whip for me, and pulled me up. He then tossed it into the air, and a bird, I'm assuming Alexander, caught it and carried us both into the sky. We landed right next to Haji, just as large numbers of insects started to rise from the cracks and crevices. Every nook and cranny seemed to contain bugs.

"Shit," I said. "What do we do?"
"There's other Nest's here," Crow said. "Even the Witch of Gatlingsburg has graced us with her presence. We and the Convocation will try and hold the Intrusion back. You take out their servant."
"Okay," I said.
"And listen," he said. "I know you're kind of a goody-two-shoes and stuff, but don't show mercy on this guy."
I nodded, and turned to face Haji.
"So, you have the Convocation with you?" he asked. "All right. Let's see how much good it will do you."

I drew my Sonic Sword and started fighting him. He swung that gourd around like it was nothing. I kept fighting. I took some hits, but I was able to use his strength against him eventually, and knocked him over. I raised my sword to strike, just as he guarded with his gourd. As the two collided, his gourd cracked open and bugs flew out. I quickly hit the sword against the ground and created a sound wave loud enough to drive them away from me. Hurt my own ears in the process, but it was a small price to pay. Haji then got up and jumped back.

"Khepri!" he cried. "I give my self to you, mind, body, and soul! Give me the power to exterminate this pest!"
"Me?" I asked. "A pest? Look who's talking."

The bugs started burrowing into his skin, and he went through a change. Razor sharp wings sprouted from his back. His eyes divided rapidly (and disgustingly) so that they became multifaceted. Chitin grew over his skin. Antennae sprouted from his head. He had turned into a bug man.

"Shit, what now?" I said out loud. I was getting tired.
Let me handle this, I heard Justin say.
"You sure?" I asked.
You have to trust me, he replied.
"Alright," I said.

I allowed Justin to control my body. My form shifted. My clothes dissolved into black mist and reformed into his black clothing. My sword vanished as well, and his scythe appeared. He charged, and began fighting Haji. Haji was strong and fats. But Justin was the Archangel's power on his side. He was able to weave behind Haji and clip both his wings in a single slash. He attempted to slash him, but Haji's armor was too strong. Just sprouted a pair of wings and floated up to the top of a building and transformed his scythe into a shotgun. Hr aimed, and fired. It penetrated Haji through the heart.

You killed him! I said.
He was already dead, he replied. He wasn't  human anymore. The Intrusion took that from him.

Justin returned control of the body to me. I looked around. The Intrusion was retreating. Crow approached me.

"We lost a lot of good Nests today," he said. "But we averted a world wide crisis, and that's the important part."
"Yeah," I said. "Thanks. I guess I owe you?"
"Don't worry," he said. "We'll come by for a favor later down the road, but it'll be a small one, and it shouldn't be too big. I have to go. See you."


So that's that. Three plagues prevented so far. My next stop is Sacramento, California on the 28. I have to stop the Plague Doctor from poisoning the entire world. Something tells me this won't be easy.

Water To Blood

I used the Godsway to get to Boston Harbor. It hurt, just like all my other times using the Godsway, but I made it. I confronted one of the Blood Vessels at the Harbor. It was the same one I had met in LA.

"We meet again," she said.
"Let me speak to the Red Cap," I said.
"Why not me?" she asked. "I love talking to handsome boys like you."
"Cut the crap!" I snapped at her. "It's your master I want to talk to."
"Ugh, fine," she said. A red fluid rose from the ground around her feet, and took the form of a red, gooey woman.
"Daniel," it said. "You wish to stop me?"
"Yes," I said. "But first, I want you to answer a few questions."
"Go ahead," she said. "I may chose not to answer some of them, but I will listen."
"Why am I different then the other Vessels?" I asked.
"You are a Devil Killer," she said. "You have a strong resistance to mind control."
"What is a Devil Killer?" I asked.
"I chose not to answer," she said. "You must learn from someone else."
"Fine," I said. "How does the water to blood thing work?" I guess the answer wouldn't matter too much, but I was still curious.
"My servants can transform the atomic arrangement of water molecules to become identical to their blood," she explained. "Sea life will die without water."
"Why are you siding with Bill Dawson," I asked.
"No particular reason," she said. "His idea seemed interesting, so I thought I'd check it out. I don't care much either way."
That gave me my idea. "What would I have to do to change your mind?" i asked.
"Seeking a peaceful resolution, are we?" she asked.
"I'll fight you if I have to," I said. "But if there's a way to avoid that, I might be willing to go with it."
"Very well," she said. She moved aside. "Face my Vessel in hand to hand combat. If you win, I'll have all my servants retreat."
"Is that the only way?" I asked.
"Yes," she said.
"Okay," I said.

I approached the Vessel. I leveled the playing field. I allowed some of the Red Cap's power flow through me. I saw my hair turn red again. We fought. I managed to bring her down. She was on her back, and with the Red Cap's power effecting my mind, I almost killed her. But I stopped. I managed to hold myself back just in time.

"What are you waiting for?" the Red Cap said. "Finish her."
"No," I said, as my hair returned to normal. "I agreed to defeat her, not kill her."
The Red Cap laughed. "You are stupidly noble," she said. "Very well. I'll withdraw my servants. But be warned; It is not over between us. Sooner or later, I'll see you again."

So I managed to avoid the first plague. My next plague is on the 25, in Suez, Egypt, against the Intrusion. Wish me luck.

He's Back

I just got a call from Malkator. He says he's back and ready for action. We're gonna give those Fears hell.

I still haven't heard from the other me. I hope he wasn't lying when he said I could trust him.

Also, there's some more troubling news. I heard from Estren. HELLFIRE was stolen from him somehow. Shit.

Meet Up

The next date on the note that future me gave me is Boston Harbor on the 23rd. Also, looking at Bills blog, he posted what he has planned for each plague. It's starting on the 23rd, and ending on the 2nd of December. There's a location on this note for each of those days. I know where to go, and I know which Fear will be there. But that doesn't give me a huge edge. I needed help from the others who are fighting against Bill.

I met up with Malkator along with Crow. It was my first time meeting him. He's... okay, I guess. Tried to hug me. Malkator says he does that. I would have met up with O'Zalia too, but he's not picking up his mind phone. Maybe he's out of telepathic range or something.

I showed them the notes. We've decided I'll handle half of them, and he'll handle the other half.

"Are you sure we can do this?" I asked.
"Me and Crow have the Convocation on our side, so that should help us some," Malkator said. "As for you, I'm sure you can handle things You've beaten Fears before, and you'll have some of the Convocation standing by just in case."
"We can't guarantee anything," Crow said. "But we've all faced a lot of tough enemies to prepare us for this. Also, why did you chose to handle plague number one?"
"I'm a Blood Vessel," I said. "The Red Cap made me into one. I need to confront her."
"You're not a normal Vessel," Malkator said. "I've watched you, and you have some unique traits. You can suppress her, prevent her from gaining complete control or spread to other people. Just like with HELLFIRE."
"I know," I said. "I plan to ask her about that."
"Why can't you just talk to her inside your subconscious?" Crow asked.
"I can never find her," I said. "Justin's seen her around, but she's never there when I go in."
"So how's your future se-" Crow started, but Malkator kicked him in the shin.
"I haven't seen future me," I said. "Have you?" I looked Malkator directly in the eyes.
"I haven't," Malkator said. "And I'm sorry. He told me not to mention it to you."
"Why isn't he helping?" I asked. "He's a lot stronger than me. He could easily give us an edge."
"I don't know," Malkator said.
"I am helping," said a voice behind me. I turned around and there he was, leaning against the wall. "Trust me, I managed to stop the plagues when I was your age, and with all the clues I've been leaving you, you should have no problem with it."
I heard a weird electric-like noise behind me, and when I turned around, Malkator and Crow were both gone.
"We're are they?" I asked.
"Just on schedule," the other me said. "Don't worry, they're fine. And best of all, they'll be more than ready to take on the Heralds of the Plagues."
"I'm getting annoyed with you," I said. "Start explaining things!"
"I'm sorry," he said. "Things are a bit complicated. You'll have to trust me."
"And why should I trust you?" I demanded.
He smiled and said "Because I am you."

Then he vanished. Great. Anyway, I have ten days to get ready for these plagues.

More Dreams

I've had three more of those dreams, like the one I mentioned a couple posts ago.

In the first one, I saw myself, kneeling over a pool, surrounded by human bones. My eyelids were still black, and my hair had grown out some. I dipped my hands into the pool and drank some of the water. I then clutched my throat and started to cough and sputter. I fell on my back, choking to death. Then Jack appeared and crouched over me.
"Silly boy," he said. "You should have known that the fountain of youth is poisoned. That's why no one who finds it ever lives to tell the story. Those who find it all die from its water. You are no different. Although, I can keep you alive, if you're willing to make a deal.
"No," I coughed, rolling over on my stomach. "I don't need you." I struggled to get back to my feet. I fell over again, but kept trying to get up. He belittles me some more.
"You can't do it," he said. "Very few have pulled it off. What makes you think you can?"
I changed. My eyelids, hair, and raincoat all turned a bright red. I stood up, laughing maniacally. I grabbed Jack by the throat.
"You know what's fun about the Red Cap?" I asked. "When I use her power, I get really masochistic. In this form, the poison empowers me."
"I then threw Jack into the water. The redness faded. I coughed a bit, but I was okay. Jack rose from the water and glared at me.
"You think this water can kill me?" he asked.
"No," I said. "But maybe this will." I shot lightning from my hands and hit the water, giving him a really big shock. He collapsed. Still alive, but weak. "Go to hell," I told him. "And when you get there, tell Bill Dawson I said hi."

That's where that dream ended. In the next dream, I had grown really pale, and my hair had darkened and turned white in places. I looked like the guy in that video, who had left the note. I was entering a detectives office.
"Tony?" I asked. "Tony, are you here? I need to talk."
I entered the back room. There was blood everywhere, and black bags dangled from the ceilings.
"No," I said, falling to the ground. "Not you too. Not like this."
I was on the verge of crying.
Then the Entity came. I looked straight into its faceless face, drew my rapier, and charged. We fought. Teleporting everywhere, trying to gain the upper hand on each other. But the Entity won. It managed to stab a tentacle into my chest, and I went down. It was above me, ready to finish me off. Then I vanished. I reappeared somewhere else, with a masked man standing over me. The symbol on the mask was of the four poker suite, aligned in a row and surrounded by flames. He wore a long, black scarf, and had waist length black hair. If not for his voice, I wouldn't have known who he was.
"You okay, Daniel?" Estren asked.
"Yeah," I replied. "Thanks, Game Master."
"You don't have to use that title on me," he said. "I'm still the same Estren Saltown you've known."
"I know," I said. I paused for a moment. "It's all over, isn't it?"
"It seems so," Estren said. "Almost all of humanity is dead, and the few survivors are being picked off one by one."
There were no more words. I simply laid down my head in my hands and started to cry.

The last dream was of me, just walking with my head down. I looked like I had really lost everything.
"You're really giving up, aren't you?" a voice said. It seemed to be coming from thin air.
"Marshall?" I asked, looking around. "Where are you?"
"Such a silly question," the voice replied. "You know I can no longer manifest physically. I can, however, lead you to a solution."
"A solution?" I asked hopefully. "There's a way to fix all of this?"
"Not exactly," the voice said. "This timeline is doomed, no matter what. But with my help, you can create a new timeline, free from all this tyranny."
"You mean creating a paradox?" I asked.
"Yes," the voice said. "Come."
I began running, and warping occasionally. I was soon in an abandoned house, with intricate symbols drawn on the wood floor.
"This is it," the voice said. "I asked David to arrange things."
"Kallaway was here?" I asked. "Where is he?"
"He left," the voice said. "He though it would be best that he didn't bring his shards of the Brute and Vision into the past. You remember what happened with the Red Cap, right?"
"Of course," I said. "So how does it work?"
"Everything's in place," the voice replied. "All we need is a secret ingredient; fear."
The air became cold, and the windows glazed over. I knew what was happening. The Cold Boy had arrived.
"Shit!" I said. "Why is he here?"
"You've isolated yourself for too long," the voice said. "But this will work to our advantage."
The symbols on the floor started glowing.
"His presence here automatically fuels the ritual," the voice said. "Hurry, the portal opens soon."
Sure enough, a portal appeared. I jumped through, and fell to the ground. Malkator stood over me.


That's where the dream ended. I think I get it now. The guy from the video. He doesn't just look like me, he is me. From the future.


Great Scott, this is heavy.