Cassandra landed in the dream realm it looked the way she imaged it would. Magenta portals, flickered in the dark purple sky. The strangest part was the ground; a series of black rocks suspended over a chasm of nothingness that extended in to eternity.
"Hello? Anyone here?" How was she supposed to find an ally in miles of empty space. Suddenly she felt the rocks shaking, pulling together in to pile.
It changed in to a man; tall muscular body, human face, but defiantly made of rock. "How did you get here?"he asked in a deep, gravelly voice.
"Hello, I'm Cassandra, or Cassie. I came through a portal, following a ...rock."
"In a previous life I was known as Alexander, but in this realm, exposed to it's power- I am known as Tremor.
"you're human." her hand caressed his cheek. He clearly didn't want to hurt her. In fact he seemed worried about something or someone."Alex-who else is here?"
"An immortal- he has found a way to come and go from this place. I've tried to study his methods but I am yet to master them." He said looking up at the sea of portals.
That had to be who let a rock fall through. "Let me help you. After all I kinda want to be able to get out of here too." Especially if staying meant turning in to a rock-person. She put out her hand to shake on the deal.
"You have the gift of sight" he touched her hair instead. it had been a long time since he had seen another human.
"yeah...i do." there was something about him that made her feel weak int he knees, but she had to stay focused. "What happens when he leaves or returns?"
"When anyone enters or exits the realm, the portals light up..." he started.
"In a pattern!" she realized what the portals were- they were literally people's dreams; entrances to homes, cities in every realm imaginable. And the immortal knew how to program it.
"It has to have a power source- Alex, how did you get in?"
"My clan sacrificed hostages in a shrine, while putting them on drugs that induced nightmares, " he felt bad about it, since he had 5 years to think about how evil his (former) clan really was.
"so it's emotions." she tried to see what she could do in her current state. Focus- patterns locations, visions- she got 3 lights that quickly faded.
"It takes more than that." Alex ,"My mission was to retrieve a stone to create a dimensional trap. I retrieved it, but instead of allowing me back in my commander took the stone, shot me in the chest and pushed my body back in to this world. They key is focus- focus on what you want." The only thing he could focus on was vengeance, but as the years went by his focus faded until all he was left with was hopelessness.
"ok, focus and emotion- focus and emotion." She said looking up at the portals when she really needed to concentrate she could see the problem as a series of lit up diagrams that only she could see.
As Cassie moved her hands through the series of line and numbers she touched Alex's chest, and as she did his stone skin turned human if just for that moment. "wow," this was the dream realm- maybe she simply needed to let go of logic.
She touched his face, stone flaked away revealing a face- Jacob's face. That was who she wanted, who she needed. She pulled him close and kissed him. Due to his time in the dream realm Tremor's emotions were powerfully strong, so the combination of Cassandra wanting Jacob and Tremor wanting her (or at least the feeling of being human) the sky lit up in a very specific pattern.
connecting to the network of dreams. Jacob he wasn't dreaming, his body was in too much pain. Ezekiel offered him something he got from the chaos realm but he really didn't want to drink anything from a place called the chaos realm.
But someone was dreaming about him and her location would be close enough.
"WHAT IN THE MOTHER OF F-K!" Cassie Cage had about enough of people falling through portals, especially in the middle of her bedroom.
"JACOB STONE, EVE BAIRD- BASE HOSPITAL ROOM 2387!" the two left and Cassie Cage eventually went back to sleep.
Cassandra with Alex (who still appeared to be made of stone), snuck in to the hospital and located room 2387.
She burst through the doors waking everyone up. "Cassandra!- and strange rock person." said Ezekiel who has been sleeping on the floor.
"This is Alex or Tremor, what name do you prefer?"
"Judging by the looks you team is giving me, lets stick with Tremor."
"Anyway, I met him in the dream realm, he's seen who…"
"why did you bring him here?" Ezekiel seemed to be the only one who diden't trust Cassandra's choice of friend.
"he knows who allowed the rock through."
"So do I, the zombie king of chaos realm told me it was Rain- but to not freak out the rest of the party, I didn't invite him to come help." He left out the part where he annoyed Havok in to kicking him out of the realm.
"I know how to defeat him." Tremor said calmly.
"We're listening, mate." Ezekiel.
"You need a relic of the gods, and there are only 2 that have not been corrupted; the staff of Fujin and the hammer of Blaze. The staff of Fujin- it cannot be accessed by mortals or immortals. But the hammer of blaze- that is located in Out world, Rain's next target- possibly his final target before he crosses in to your world."
"So we need to get there, before he does." Eve said, even though she, like all of them needed sleep.
"Actually we don't -Earth realm's immortal liaison, Raiden has Out world in a police state…" Cassie Cage went to the room once she realized the strange red headed girl was accompanied by a powerful Black Dragon Clan solider (who was now made of rock.) "Why is he here." She asked, pulling her weapon on Termor.
"We just went over this; his commander abandoned him-he can help us." Cassandra said to the blonde girl. "I'm Cassandra…"
The blonde girl laughed, "Sorry. I'm Cassandra too. SSgt Cassie Cage." This was Jacob's Cassie? She looked like the very definition of a nerd- still , with innocence came trust- if she said Tremor was no longer affiliated with his clan SSgt Cage would roll with it.
He explained that the only way to defeat Rain would be to wield Blaze's hammer and that he witnessed Rain enter and exit the dream realm so many times it was possible his last stop before jumping in to the Librarians time line would be to destroy the hammer.
"Anyway, If the location of Blaze's hammer was under attack Raiden would be calling…." Just as she said that Cassie's radio went active. "well sh-t."
"We're going with you." Said other Cassie.
"H—l no. You all are sleep deprived and guy who looks like my dad- can barely walk." She held her head in her hands as if she had a migraine. "You already know how to traverse the realms without a portal key. Me and my team will meet you there."