nexus_crossings | Dreams galore!

Possibly thanks to a certain priest, Freddy is sick. Walking along the Plaza, Freddy looks at the pockets or bubbles of dreams that have come out of his mind. He sees a cat sniffing at one of the bubbles and reluctantly moves forward. Freddy feels miserable. He's tired, achy, and his head feels like it's in a vise. Still. He feels responsible for the dream world and the power he has over it. Fortunately, the bubble the cat falls into is harmless. It's soon filled with the cat chasing mice made out of cheese. It's almost enough to make Freddy laugh.

Almost. Not all of the bubbles are so sweet.

One of the bubbles is giving off a vibe of suffocation and loneliness. It's looks empty. Subtle shadows in the off white interior vaguely suggest walls and a floor. Mostly though, it's just filled with that horrible, cut off feeling. Freddy quickly steps forward and uses his control of dreams to end that particular bubble.

Once that's done, he leans against the wall of the nearest building. Freddy knew he didn't have the energy to destroy all of the bubbles. He'd have to leave that for the dangerous ones. He frowned, trying to think past his weariness. He knows dreams and some are more real than others. Damn it. He sees a mother yelling at her young child, who is playing happily in a dream with a beach of rainbow sand. Freddy ignores them. The kid is safe, so his mother can deal with him.

Unlike reality, dreams don't last, no matter what kind they are. Freddy is deeply grateful for that, right now. Still. He's not sure it's a good idea to mess around with these bubbles. He just knows, though, that some adventurous sorts are gonna try and explore them and some klutzes will end up in them by accident. He groans in annoyance.

"Has anyone seen these bubble dreams outside of the Plaza? Can you try and stay out of them? I feel like hell and I can't guarantee what'll happen, if you end up in one. Nightmares don't always announce themselves with horror movie shit, y'know. If you need help, let me know! Just call out for Freddy."

He sighs at that last part. He just wants to curl up and go to sleep himself, but he isn't sure if he would be able to get into the bubble dreams, from the main dream world, since they seem to have broken away!

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"Really? I've never thought of dreams as being timeless, in that sense."

She looks uncomfortable for a moment. Freddy has seen her nightmare, after all, what does that say about her? "Do you use your power often? On your world, I mean."

"Don't feel bad. I haven't met many people who know a damn thing about dreams. Most seem to think they're just pretty pictures you see in your sleep," Freddy says, meaning to be reassuring, but he's scoffing at people, really. "Yeah, pretty much any time I go to sleep. I'm always controlling my own dreams and...well, if someone I care about is having a nightmare, I'll step in and change the dream."

Mostly, he does that for his mother, Amanda. He doesn't want to talk about that, though, so he doesn't bring her up.

"People can be quick to discount dreams," Adia agrees. Then again, she hasn't had a "pretty picture" dream in some time. "But I think that's wonderful that you help your loved ones." If he did mention his mother, she'd only think more highly of him, but she certainly isn't going to pry about who specifically he helps.

"When you control your own dreams, what do you dream about?" she asks curiously, hoping it isn't too private a question.

"Uh, yeah," Freddy says, not sure how to respond to her approval. He's pretty sure no one from his town would accept what he did so graciously. He blushes just a tiny bit from the praise. He tilts his head at her question, though, a bit puzzled and intrigued by it.

"What do I dream about? It's not like that for me. I'm too aware of the dream world as it's own place, with its own reality. I spend most of my time there exploring it and what it can do. What I can do, y'know?"

She bites her lip nervously, hoping that she didn't embarrass him. "Is it ever scary for you? Other people's nightmares?" He didn't seem at all perturbed by her nightmare, but it couldn't have been much fun, either.

"So... it's more like a superpower?" She nods slowly, starting to understand. "Are you ever surprised by what you learn?"

"Nah. Why be scared, if you can just make it go away? I guess the images are disturbing, at times, but I'm never afraid."

Freddy laughs at the idea of having a superpower.

"I'm not sure I'd call it that exactly," he objects, grinning. "Yeah, I get surprised quite a bit. The human mind is pretty amazing."

"I guess so. It sounds like you've had a lot of practice, too. How do you know if someone is having a nightmare?"

"I think it qualifies," Adia insists, smiling. "A friend of mine is a vampire with psychic powers. I don't think she can manipulate dreams the way you can, but she has prophetic dreams. Anyway, she became a superhero, so I think anything's possible."

"I don't always," Freddy admits, with a shrug. "Some people I just keep an eye on. Sometimes, I just stumble across nightmares."

Freddy shakes his head. He once entertained the idea of using his power for the public good. In the end, he decided against it.

"Think about it, though. How would I do that, without violating people's privacy? I have a lot of power and it would be way to easy to abuse it."

That was something that had concerned Amanda for a long time and she had made sure Freddy respected others, especially in the dream world.

Adia nods slowly, feeling a little foolish. He has a really good point about violating people's privacy. "I suppose you could offer your help to people with recurring nightmares, but then you wouldn't have a secret identity. And who knows if anyone would trust you..."

At least he's not using his powers for evil. That'd be a real nightmare. But Freddy seems like a good guy, despite being a little rough around the edges. She smiles at him again. "Well, thanks for helping me, at least. Do you... um, should I not tell people about your powers?"

"Yeah and I'm not sure I would trust them, either," Freddy responds dryly. "Oh, you're welcome."

At her question, he gives a sharp laugh, looking around at the dream bubbles floating around.

"Thanks for the offer, but I don't think this is gonna stay quiet. I gotta get rid of these damn bubbles."

"That, too," she says quietly. At least he can help his loved ones.

Only then, when he mentions it, does she notice the other dream bubbles floating around the Nexus. She turns in a circle, looking around with wide eyes. "Where did these all come from?"

"From me," Freddy admits wearily. Fortunately, the dream bubbles have slowed in coming, if they haven't actually stopped. "I'm sick. I feel like shit and these things keep squeezing out of my head. I think some guy claiming to be a priest whammied me."

If she had learned this right away, she might have been a little cross with Freddy for inadvertently being responsible for her nightmare, but as it is, she just looks at him sympathetically. "That happens here sometimes. Not necessarily the priest part, but weird temporary curses."

She gives another wary look at the bubbles and takes out her PINpoint. She wishes she could get another cup of coffee, but she's not risking getting trapped in another nightmare. "I'll leave you to it, then. I hope you feel better soon."

"Oh, this place is just a barrel of laughs," Freddy answers dryly. "Yeah, thanks, because I'm so looking forward to this. I'll feel better as soon as I can get some sleep."

Dreams galore!

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