[The dream starts with Angelo walking down a dank hallway that looks almost like a basement cellar, but with jail cells. He walks up to a jail cell where there's four people inside -- a young man, a young lady, a middle aged man, and a small green troll/toad-like creature. The middle aged man tries to grab Angelo after he greets them from between the bars, but the templar tells him to control his temper as he unlocks the cell doors and apologizes to them. Then he leads the four away from the cells and around a small corner towards another room, there a sleeping guard lays as Angelo explained he seasoned the man's supper with a pinch of sleeping powder. Afterwards they reach a torture chamber full of various torturous devices from the medieval period with Angelo soon speaking at his normal tone of voice saying they can talk again. The small green troll/toad-like creature speaks up soon after with an accent much like Angelo's, except his has an aged and more regal tone as he asks Angelo to explain what's going on. Angelo in return apologizes for lying about a ring to someone named Marcello along with saying how he'd have no one else to go and for the group not to be mad at him. However the group, especially the small creature are not amused and remain irritated. In return, Angelo says he'll show them something they might not have seen before. Angelo picks up the creature and he asks him what it is... But what they see and hear is a loud clanging sound as the iron maiden opens to reveal blood stained spikes. Angelo holds the creature up right in front of iron maiden as he begins to tremble while the man is smirking.]

There! And that's real blood on those spikes, you know. If I were to throw you in there and shut the door, your whole body would be skewered. I could make you hole-ier than thou without so much as getting my hands dirty. Not bad, eh?

[After he's done talking, Angelo tosses the creature into the iron maiden and shuts the door behind him. The creature makes crying sounds and ones of "ARGH!!" as the rest of the group stand there in shock. Angelo on the other hand is simply amused with a smug smirk while having a left hand curled up under his chain to use it as a bit of a rest and using the other to support his left arm. In a matter of moments however, the creature starts talking again, going "Eh?" and "Oooh!" while making what sounds like banging noises. He also asks the group if they can hear him as he exclaims there's a secret passage in the iron maiden. Angelo meanwhile is only winking and still being smug at first, but then stands next to the maiden with a bowed head extending his arm out gracefully before stating, "Like I said, not bad, eh?"

But then the dream ends, to which Angelo awakens looking both a bit confused and tired at the same time in his bed. He doesn't really understand what just happened or why, but he sighs and says nothing of it.]

[ooc: Please put in the subject line if your character is interacting with Angelo in his dream or after he's awake!]

[Anyone that wanders into the princess's dream would surprisingly still find themselves in Vatheon. It isn't exactly the Vatheon that everyone lives in now, though - it's just a bit different. The coral now towers all the way up to the top of the bubble, looking a great deal like a massive tree. It gives off a soft golden glow. Thalassino can be seen nearby walking around openly, and Carol isn't too far off either. The locals that typically wander the city looking just a bit like they're in a fog have a sort of clarity to them that they usually don't possess.

Zelda herself can be found at the base of the coral, pressing a hand to the mark beneath her collarbone and opening up a portal. The fields of Hyrule are visible on the other side, accessible whenever she wants to go. It's then that she notices she has company, and she turns with a smile.]

Hello, there.

[The dream begins with Serph, Heat, Argilla, Gale, and Cielo near the top of a tower with a spiral staircase leading to its peak. Swirling around them are what looks to be clouds, or snow, though on closer inspection, the particles seem to be... hexagonal shaped. Oddly artificial.

But after a shudder that shakes the entire tower, the swirling clouds disintegrate, clearing the sky so they can see the world tens of thousands of feet below them. There are clusters of buildings in five distinct territories, a massive crack in the ground, as well as other buildings scattered across the land between. The lights on the buildings are the only signs of life from this height; there are no clusters of trees or greenery on this land, only barren grey wasteland. But as Serph watches, the world is... deleted, starting from the edge of the world and rapidly advancing inwards. Everything disappears from the outside, rapidly advancing towards the very tower he stands on, leaving nothing but void in its wake.

Argilla's voice pierces the scene, but it's like it's coming through a thick fog, as if Serph is barely aware of it. "No... The Junkyard is... disappearing! Our comrades are still down there!"





When Serph wakes, his eyes snap open into alertness. He doesn't say anything; he just... rubs tiredly at his face and stares at the ceiling.]

[ooc: Let me know if you're interacting with Serph in the dream, or with Serph afterwards in the subject line!]

[When the feed flickers on, it's clearly not a regular network post. The screen seems to be moving, and that would be because it's taking place on the back of a pick up truck. Gunshots ring out, and Zack can be heard shouting at the driver to pull over. He then bends down and picks up a young man with spiky blond hair, hopping off the truck with him as he dodges the gunshots ringing out from all around him.

For someone who's getting shot at, he's remarkably calm as he places the seemingly unconscious man down on the ground, propping him up against a rock. With a smile and a head ruffle, Zack leaves his companion behind, and doesn't see him reaching out his hand towards him as he leaves.

Zack steps out onto the precipice of a cliff, and staring him down are dozens and dozens of soldiers, their guns and swords pointed at him. There's even a helicopter or two in the distance, ready to support the men. Before Zack draws his sword from his back:]

Boy oh boy, the price of freedom is steep.

[Holding the sword in front of him, Zack places his forehead against it, remembering Angeal's words: Embrace your dreams, and whatever happens, protect your honor as SOLDIER!

True to his word, Zack swings out his sword and charges straight at the small army gathered in front of him.

What happens next is a brutal scene to watch.

He fights wave after wave of soldiers, slicing and dicing and casting magic. But despite his efforts, he slowly begins to wear down as he's shot, stabbed, and almost blown up. Blood spurts from him, but he battles on tirelessly, even as his clothes begin to become ragged, just like his breathing.

But the outcome to this is inevitable. To his credit, Zack strikes down all but three soldiers before he is knocked down, from pain, blood loss and exhaustion. One soldier looms over him, and without a shred of mercy, shoots him in the head.

Amazingly, that doesn't kill him. At least not right away. But as he slowly begins to bleed out, the young blond man from before comes crawling over to him. Just as he manages to crawl over to Zack, his pained expression filling the screen, Zack wakes up from his dream.

He wakes with a start, his eyes wide. It's been awhile since he had such a nightmare. Blowing out a breath, he rubs a hand over his face before the feed cuts out.]

((ooc: lemme know if you're responding in the dream or afterwards!))

[While Shiro may go to bed late and rise early, it's not unusual to find him copping a nap when he can. It's quite a skill of his, though it was developed out of necessity; since demons can attack at any hour of the day and night, the most prudent of exorcists have long since learned how to catch valuable hours of sleep at any opportunity. So even though Shiro doesn't really need to worry about demons here in Vatheon, he still tends to sneak off after lunch and get some shut-eye.

Because of that, this dream broadcasts over the network at around 2 in the afternoon.

( Dream under here )

[And right there is where the dream ends.]

((OOC: As a note, Shiro is from manga canon. The manga and anime are very different from each other, so this dream is based more on what could have happened in the manga. Also, characters who have met Yuri Egin will recognize her as the woman, and anyone who's seen Rin's sword will recognize it as the one Shiro has in the dream.))

[Junon military base: it's all cold metal and hard angles. This room seems to have been repurposed to accommodate a press conference. Tifa stands with Barret, their arms bound, flanked by Shinra soldiers, while Scarlet stands in front of them, a malicious smile on her lips as she addresses the press and the cameras.]

These terrorists are the people responsible for this chaos. Now, you'll all witness their deaths live on national television...

Starting with this girl.

[Barret shouts and tries to muscle his way in front of her, but the soldiers hold him back. The others escort Tifa to a tiny room on the left, where they lock her wrists into the restraints of a chair. Scarlet leans in close.]

This is my special gas chamber. Take your time, and enjoy a slow, painful death. Stuck up bitch.

[She slaps Tifa and then leaves with the guards. There's a clink as one of them drops the key, and then the door slams shut and the gas starts. Outside, the base's alarms start blaring and a commotion kicks up. Tifa shouts for Barret, but chokes on the gas and thinks better of speaking.

She stretches her foot for the key. Just a little farther... The gas is thick in her face and she shakes her head, shutting her eyes against it. Feeling blindly, her boot finally catches the edge of the key and she drags it carefully back to the chair. From there, she manages to get it up into her mouth and unlock herself. She switches off the gas and looks around. What to do?

A blast rocks the base, throwing her against the chair as something rips a hole in the ceiling. There's a pounding on the other side of the door and Scarlet's muted voice.]

First you lock me in this thing, and now you want me to come out? Make up your minds!

[Tifa climbs out through the opening, and finds herself atop the base. The air tastes clean, but it must be at least fifteen stories straight down to Junon's huge canon, and beyond that, nothing but the ocean. Nowhere else to go.]


[Tifa wakes with the feeling of vertigo, nearly tumbling out of bed. She steadies herself, and breathes deep.]