Dreamtime (IC)

[GranspearZX]

Arcturus's free palm found his forehead. He wasn't at all good with kids, and despite his best efforts, it kept failing miserably. He put Mary down next to Rene, unsure of whether or not she had seen her parents... if they were even real. Even if they weren't, the symbolism would only fuel her fear. He agreed with the elder magic-user; that wouldn't be good for anyone involved.

The thought of playing on Mary's fears on purpose made him frown deeply; Arc definitely didn't like where that particular train of thought was leading him. He was going to have to get his hands dirty again, if he wanted to avoid that.

"Listen, kid... ...er... Mary. I don't know what the boogeyman told you... but he's a bad, bad person. Don't worry though... Uncle Arcturus and Grandpa Rene'll get you back where you belong." Somehow or another.

Avoiding the issue of the big nasty arachnid for the moment, he tried to get a good look at the medallion. He wasn't going to ask her to give it up again, not after that last little outburst, but he really didn't want to risk fracturing the kid's mind just to get out of her nightmare...

[Supercape]

"Well, monsieur Arcturus, Mademosielle Marie, I think we should try not to look at the nasty big speedere and try to be brave. "

He turned Mary to look at him. "You can be very very brave, Marie, even when you are scared. Remember that. "

It was true too, he had been part of a bloody war or two, and he had seen both fear and courage in the same man.

"Now then. Let us try and find ze Bogeyman shall we, and give eem back his medallion..." Rene started drawing a circle in the mud, it was surprisingly intricate despite the crude materials, and it started forming into a large, lidless eye...

The pitter patter of eight spindly legs could be heard all around them.

[GranspearZX]

Arc positioned himself between Mary and the spider, just in case. Watching Rene begin the circle, he watched very carefully--it was, after all, a learning opportunity. It was a little unnerving, realizing just how powerless he was in a magical situation. He wasn't sure why he hadn't thought of recreating the circle on the medallion, though part of that was the girl's refusal to give it to him. Unable to do anything for the moment, he lifted his head and sniffed absently at the air--the landscape might not have been real, but he'd hoped he'd be able to pick up on something that was.

I'm so glad I wasn't like that when I was her age...

That certainly wasn't to say Arcturus wasn't afraid of anything. He couldn't swim and hadn't tried it in some time; he outright refused. But he couldn't remember a time when being afraid had led him to act so... stubbornly. Then again, he'd never been trapped in his own nightmares, and he couldn't really be sure how he'd react if he was confronted with the one thing he truly feared.

He said nothing but grew visibly more tense at the sound of the spiders, shifting his stance a bit in the mud and careful not to disturb the circle Rene was drawing. Arc wasn't going to be rude and tell him to hurry, but it was all over his expression.

[Supercape]

"Now Mary, be very brave, and look at this" said Rene, softly, pointing at the Eye. "Think very very hard about the boogeyman. Don't be scared. We have to see him and fix all of this".

Under his breadth, he started muttering some latin and greek phrases, alongside words not meant for any human language.

A hissing noise started, and a green black fog started swirling around the three figures. The crudely drawn mud eye steamed, and the pupil shifted this way and that amongst the mud.

"Neverrrr.... I will neverrrr come to youuuuu...... I will feeeed on you....." hissed the horrible voice.

"He is coming" said Rene, his mind fully focussed on his incantation and the mud eye. "It wont be long, I just have to finish this off without any..."

A scuttling sound was heard as the giant king spider ran across the mud towards the three

"...distractions" he finished. He elbowed Arcturus "don't let that thing stop me, will you?"

[GranspearZX]

"So I'm hired muscle now. Great." Arcturus snorted and looked over at the spider, moving quickly to get some distance between himself and Rene. He'd somewhat resigned himself to the fact that his magical talent was limited to, more or less, breaking things and beating up monsters.

Despite how creeped out he was, he charged forward, stopping just long enough to catapult himself through the air with a broad leap to grab the beast about the head and wrestle it to the ground. If he was going to be the brawn of this little rescue, he figured he might as well act the part.

[Supercape]

Mary clapped as Arcturus wrestled the Spider to its knees, or what passed for its knees. It was not easy getting traction in the mud, and the giant spider was slipping and sliding all over the place.

Rene could only muster the most token of gestures and encouragement, engrossed as he was with his ritual, inscribing over the eye with umbrella yet again, as the pupil darted this way and that as if trying to escape the confines of the eye.

"Well done, Monsieur!" he applauded, before turning his attention to Mary "stay focussed child! the boogeyman is coming, and we must be brave!"

Arcturus' heroic efforts had seemed to bolster the child, who looked braver than ever.

[GranspearZX]

"Rrgh... Less cheering, more magic making!" Arc yelled back, trying to keep the giant spider subdued. The fact that it couldn't get much traction in the mud was only helping his cause; it had six legs more than he did, and he doubted he could've pulled off such a bold assault without the terrain giving him an advantage.

His job was merely to stall the thing, so he tried to keep the monster pinned down as best he could. He wasn't getting a whole lot of solid footing either, but he attempted to hold the spider down, nonetheless.

[Supercape]

Rene dared not look up, but gave Arc a friendly wave "Formidable!" he cheered, amid a stream of Sumerian chants.

He grasped Mary's head with a friendly grip, and turned her head backwards to the eye. "Non, non, madame!" he admonished her "we must only face the true fear. That... thing is but a parasite, something from your own dreams. We must face the intruder!"

The inscribed eye grew more desperate, and a hissing of steam emitted from the mud.

"Neverrrr....!" hissed the voice, although it seemed that despite its defiance, something was going coming...

[GranspearZX]

Arc was irritable, tired, wet, and dirty. It was an unpleasant combination of things for one person to be, and yet here he was, in all his eight-foot glory, ankle deep in mud and pinning a giant spider to the ground. He was muddy all the way up to his knees and his fur was matted from the effort of the skirmishes into which he'd gotten himself involved, as well as the lake water. Still, it helped to focus on the task at hand; he could always complain about his sorry state later.

The hissing was, to say the very least, unnerving. At first, Arcturus thought that some giant snake had decided to join the fray, but a quick glance alleviated that particular worry. His only issue now was just holding the spider at bay, and even that wasn't so difficult; he could tell that he was wearing the enormous arachnid down. Rene was holding his end up, as far as he could tell, but he had a sneaking suspicion that this was the easy part.

[Supercape]

Rene observed, from the corner of his eye, the Spider flailing away, trying to break free from the bear's grasp.

Now there's a sight you don't see every day he conceded...

From the muddy eye he drew on the ground, a crack of misty blackness emerged, and in its centre, the faintest of red glows. The crack was only hairline thick at the moment, only the whisper of an imagination, but it was growing steadily.

"The boogeyman" squealed Mary, hiding her face in Rene's jacket.

Rene peered at the black crack, which grew with every second. "What do you want, hmmm?" he asked of the blackness, to which the hissing voice replied "I grow hungry. I want the world...."

[GranspearZX]

Arcturus was a surprisingly capable fighter; he seemed to be just fine, so long as he kept his limbs away from the spider's mandibles. He wasn't sure if they were poisonous, but he certainly wasn't going to risk finding out. He didn't really plan on getting bitten--but then, he didn't plan on having to defend a little girl from the 'boogeyman' either. This entire day was full of surprises.

Rene seemed like he was just about ready, and now Arcturus had to figure out just how to get rid of the spider. He couldn't help but think that this would be easier of he just had some gigantic shoe to squish it with... Instead, the big bear shifted his weight to try and get underneath the flailing spider, fully intending to haul the thing off the ground and throw it back where it came from.

[Supercape]

How anything worked in the dream dimension was anybodies guess. If it "worked" at all.

But in a dream, a giant bear can throw a giant spider right out of the picture. It would be hard to describe how far it flew, or where it landed. The essence was, he threw it far, and it was gone.

Rene noted the hurl with satisfaction. The Boogieman was loosing his grip.

"Welcome, Monsieur Boogieman" he said, with a very slight bow, as the black, inky, and formless thing oozed from the ground to the air. Only a jagged red smile, implying many horrible black teeth, was visible.

As he arrived, the whole environment appeared to grow palid, grey, and lifeless. Mists formed around them, and colour even washed away from the ground. It reminded Rene of the trenches of world war I - and yes, the ground had that muddy, horrible feel to it.

"And who might you be?" the jagged red grin asked the two heroes.

[GranspearZX]

If nothing else, Arcturus felt a whole lot better about himself after dispatching the spider... even if it wasn't real.

Returning to Rene's side, he watched the color of the landscape drain, leaving just them, the girl, and... the Boogeyman. A feeling of general unease settled in on Arcturus, knotting in his stomach as he visibly tensed. He'd never believed in the Boogeyman... his parents had told him that there was no such thing as monsters. But then, that was years before his father actually admitted to being one, once upon a time.

"We're Pest Control," Arcturus said flatly, straightening up and staring the shrouded figure straight in the... well, in the mouth. He could definitely see kids being scared senseless of this thing, and even now he had a feeling that this particular incarnation was tame in comparison to what could really happen.

"And you, you're a pest. Get out."

[Supercape]

"Get out?" replied the Boogeyman "but you are the pests here, not me. And as for getting out, I intend to. And I will! and the child is the door, aren't you, my precious!"

The black, intangible ink started to swirl around the young girl.

"Away! Away! The child is not for you!" shouted Rene at the mist. He was still not clear about what was happening here, but he was beginning to form an idea. The Boogeyman was what it was - one would struggle to call it evil, although malign would cover it. "Are you saying you wish to enter the world of the waking?"

The jagged red grin broadened "yes... yes... so much more real. The child is a dreamwalker, and can enter this world. And we can exchange places!"

Rene's brow furrowed. Things were perhaps more complex now. And he wasn't entirely sure that it could be solved with fists or bolts of lightning. A battle would be fought, but it seemed for the young girl's soul.

[GranspearZX]

"I don't think so." Arcturus moved to interpose himself between Mary and the apparition. That put him in front of Rene, as well, though he hardly seemed to mind. The red of his pupils intensified as he leaned forward, fangs bared into the mist. On paper, the very idea of trying to intimidate the boogeyman just seemed ridiculous. He wasn't about to let anything happen to this girl, however; he'd never be able to live with himself if he did.

"Anyone can pick on a little girl... Pick on someone your own size."

[Supercape]

The Boogeyman seemed to fade slightly, and its oily black tendrils faded away from the child, and it drifted towards Arcturus.

Rene grabbed Mary in a gentle but firm manner, clasping her shoulders and making her look straight at him "Listen, Mary. I know the monster is scary, but you must not let him scare you. We are here now, and he cannot harm you. We are taking you back to your mummy and daddy, and he will never bother you again. All you have to do is wake up!"

The Boogeyman gave Rene an evil glare, and screamed back, in an awful voice "She will never wake up! NONE OF YOU WILL WAKE UP!"

A horrible laughter filled the air "I WILL BE WAKING UP! AT LAST!"

Rene felt his resolve collapse, overcome with the ghastly half - reality they were stuck in. Nothing seemed as real, time and space seemed abstract rather than pertinent. In short, he felt that he was asleep rather than alive.

[GranspearZX]

Arcturus held his ground. He wasn't going anywhere... and he wasn't afraid. That seemed to be outright disagreeable with the incorporeal monster... and it tried to attack Rene instead. He could see a very visible, if not entirely physical reaction from him and his eyes narrowed. His eyes brightened into an angry red as he looked back at the monster's figure.

"THAT'S ENOUGH."

His voice carried a threatening echo, reverberating outward from the big bear's position. Magic or no magic, his uncertainty faded into outright rage, and he was determined to put this monster back into whatever hole it had crawled out of.

[Supercape]

"That;s the Spirit!" Rene exclaimed. He glanced down at Mary.

"Yes indeed, that's the spirit!" he said, more thoughtfully. He stroked his forehead. I'm sure I am missing something here... he realised Damn, that creature has done something to me... him, or this half-world we walk in...

The boogieman just let out a broad and evil grin, and drifted towards Arcturus "don't try that on me, fool! I was dancing in this realm when you where a pup, and I know all your nightmares.... I know them...."

"...and BECOME THEM!" it laughed, as it transformed into a amorphous and poorly defined watery globe, full of depth and darkness, reeking of bottomless pools and rivers that young boys could drown in. The watery depths lunged, or slithered, towards the bear - it was hard to describe in physical terms exactly how it moved...

[GranspearZX]

For a brief second, Arc's eyes widened at the boogeyman's watery form, but he wasn't so shocked by it that he stood immobile as it lunged for him. He dove off to one side, his surprising agility aiding him in quickly getting back to his feet. It was huge, and threatened to swallow him whole... Arc growled, baring his fangs against his rapidly accelerating heartbeat. Its scent reminded him a little too much of that day at the beach in Maryland; he stood his ground, refusing to let his fears control him.

"You think you know me, monster? You haven't got a clue!" A dull, yellowish light flowed from the Beast Rune on Arcturus's shoulder, settling in the form of an upward-facing triangle on the back of his hand as he lunged forward, taking a hard and vicious swipe at the beast with his claws.

[Supercape]

The ferocious slash hit the boogieman and nearly split it in two. It wobbled but reformed, angry and in pain.

Before it could fully respond, a bolt of lightning erupted from the sky and streaked towards the creature.

"Take that, monsieur!" exclaimed Rene, focussing on the white streak of arcane energy that had manifested from his mind. And indeed, the creature did take it: squarely and robustly. Whilst the lance of lightning was true, and a dark, musty vapour streamed off the watery form, it remained as malign and present as ever.

[GranspearZX]

Arcturus kept up his assault, stubbornly refusing to let up even for a second. Always in his peripheral was Mary though... She didn't seem to be scared at all. In fact, her overall condition seemed to be improving; he wasn't sure if that was his doing or Rene's.

Maybe there's more to his 'hero' business after all.

He couldn't fire a lightning bolt, but he took another swipe at the Boogeyman, roaring as he tried to cleave the apparition in two.

[Supercape]

This time, Arcturus mighty blow did rend the creature in twain, quite literally.

The watery form split into two spinning globules and landed on the floor with a splash, before reforming as the black oily grin it had taken up when they first met.

"Don't kill me!" it pleaded. "I am just so lonely! I wanted to go to the real world, where all the boys and girls live! I am so tired..."

[GranspearZX]

For a brief moment, Marcus's compassion wrestled with the Beast Rune's aggressive nature; it made him hesitate, staring at the cleft in twain monster with obvious incredulity. "Why? So you can terrorize little kids in the real world too? Do I look stupid to you?!" The big bear's eyes flared red as he leaned forward, pointing a menacing claw at the unsettling ink spot that was the Boogeyman.

"This is what's gonna happen. You're gonna crawl back under whatever rock you came out from. You're gonna leave this little girl be. And if I hear about you trying to pull this with another kid, I'll put you in a jar. Several jars."

[Supercape]

The Boogieman have a howl and a fierce gnash of his maw, but said nothing. Rather, he seemed to just fade away. One moment he was there. The next, he was not. It was hard to say exactly how he had gone, other than to say it was like the way dreams evaporate when one awakes.

Rene applauded aloud. "Well done, sir! Well done!". He turned to Mary and looked her in the eye. "See, madam? all monsters are cowards, and you only need to be brave, and they will go!" he gave her a big smile.

As he did, the mists seemed to evaporate, and the central park of Freedom City slowly (or was it quickly?) came into view.

[GranspearZX]

The threat was mostly an empty one. In reality, he had no idea how he was going to follow up if the monster called him on his thread. He could have certainly trapped it in something, but that sort of thing took time. In the meantime, though, Marcus looked up and saw things starting to fade back into normalcy; he did the same. He'd managed to shift without much damage to his clothes, but they were ripped and torn all the same. He looked at his hand from the earlier burn; Marcus couldn't even tell that he'd been hurt earlier.

The fact that his secret was out to two strangers didn't seem to concern him at all.

"...hm. I don't think he'll be bothering you again, Mary... you alright?"