Here's the second half of the double update. Warning: This chapter may get confusing to you all, but know that in dreams, nothing makes sense. DISCLAIMER!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Megaman Franchise. It is owned by CAPCOM (which makes my favorite game series aside from Megaman; Ace Attorney). I do own the OCs Aphrodite dot EXE and Skye Sakurai.
Roll yelped as she watched Megaman tumble away, whip marks fresh on his injured form. Looking over at who did it, her eyes widened. The one holding a while was…her before she gained her Metastable program? But different. Her hair was gone, letting the backpack resembling the electrical generators on Elecman's back be shown. Her eyelids were purple while the underside of her eyes had grown darker. Her eyes held no remorse for her actions, but a sadistic satisfaction.
"What…What is this?" Roll asked in shock.
The darker version of herself lunged at Megaman. Roll yelped, closing her eyes. Slowly, she opened them, revealing she was standing in just darkness, a lone spotlight shining down on her.
"Wh…What was that?" Roll whispered.
"A dream, but not a dream at the same time," Roll looked to her right to see a strange man, wearing a prisoner's black and white jumpsuit while sitting at a fortune teller's table, a crystal ball repeating what Roll had experienced, "What you saw was something more akin to something you could become should you let darkness get to you. Or, perhaps, you were gazing upon a moment happening at the same time as you were dreaming."
"What?"
"Dreams are more mysterious than you give them credit for. Have you ever heard of the multiverse theory? What if dreams are actually ways to glimpse into another universe all together?" the man asked, the small candles around the tables revealing his mid-back length, black hair and neutral, grey eyes.
"That…That would make sense on what I s-Wait, I'm dreaming?" Roll asked.
"You're actually experiencing a lucid dream, meaning you've been able to come into the in-between of slumber and being awake. Interesting," the man noted, "The special frequency that I'm having played all over this town should have made sure you were all in a heavy slumber."
"…What?"
"My name…is Morpheus, God of Dreams," the man introduced as he held a hand over the ball and ran a hand over it until he held a small, rose ball in the palm of his hand no bigger than an egg, "Thank you for this dream."
"Morpheus?!" Roll gasped, "You're from OLYMPUS!"
"Interesting. I have a Greek name, yet you associate me with a group that you've done battle with before," Morpheus noted, pulling out a green orb and looking at it, "Your dream of fighting Gaia after eating a bar of chocolate was quite an interesting one."
"Wh-What?!" Roll blushed, not realizing she was now sitting at a table with Morpheus.
"Long ago, a scientist known as Campari invented a way to enter dreams and created special items known as Dream Orbs," Morpheus noted, "They're made by crystallizing dreams." He stood up and looked down at Roll from his table on the sky, "Well, it was interesting, but I need to find Skye Sakurai's dreams. Ja ne."
"Ah! W-Wait!" Roll called out as she ran after the man, who exited through a door on the ground she was on.
The door closed before she got to it. She quickly swung it open and gasped. A large hallway was all that was before her. She pursed her lip as she didn't find Morpheus anywhere. She blinked a few times. Was…Was that…someone singing?
"Togisumase yobisamase/Special na kankaku/Mimi wo sumashite kikitore/Ichibyougo ni okoru mirai/Chikara dake ni torawarete/Jiyuu wasureta shunkan ni/Nomikomarete yuku you na/Mou nigerarenai Innocent Trap~!"
Skipping along the path was…Megaman? He looked to be around four with the bars on his helmet slightly larger, the two yellow bars on it replaced with a single upside-down trapezoid, and the blues of his armor and bodysuit replaced with shades of yellow.
"Mega-kun?" Roll pondered, noting the bit of yellow design on the child's torso and his NaviMark was green, "Elec Team Style?"
"Roll-chan!" the boy beamed, "Hi~!"
"Y-You're so tiny…!" Roll gawked, bending down enough to look the child Megaman in the eyes.
"And you're really tall!" the boy giggled, spreading his arms out at the 'really' part, showing his gloves and boots had gained extra armor.
"…Ohh~You are just too adorable~!" Roll cooed, scooping the child Megaman and began to cuddle him, earning giggles from him.
Elec Team giggled before kissing Roll's cheek, "You're silly, Roll-chan."
"S-Silly?!" Roll stammered, blushing so hard that tomatoes would be jealous of her color.
"It's a dream world~!" Elec Team giggled, managing to climb onto her shoulder.
"A…Oh yeah…" Roll blinked before gasping, "Morpheus!"
"I don't think we can drink that," Elec Team noted.
"No, it's a NetNavi from OLYMPUS," Roll corrected as she began to run down the hall.
"Mmmm…." Elec Team pursed his lips, trying to think, before his eyes widened, "Oh! He's one of the bad people that chased after Aun' Maylu, hai?"
'Aun' Maylu?' Roll pondered before she skidded to a halt, "A…A jail cell? How did we end up in here?"
"Clint. Clint…" turning around, Roll and Elec Team saw an elderly man on his knees, looking around the cell, "Where has my Clint gone? Where are you, my little mouse?"
"A mouse?" Roll tilted her head before noticing Elec Team wasn't on her shoulder, "Eh?" looking down, she spotted him peeking out from behind her legs, "You're shy?"
Elec Team nodded before he let out a frightened gasp and buried his face into the back of her leg. Roll looked ahead and stifled a scream. Before them was a behemoth of a rat with massive fangs and a feral look in its eyes. The horn it had didn't help make them any less frightened.
"Clint…" the elder gasped, reaching towards the monster rat.
The next thing Elec Team knew, his sight and hearing were lost to him (along with his oxygen) by something big and soft. Roll held Elec Team close to her bosom as she tried to not look at the elder's upper half being chomped right off. Her eyes widened as she saw that the inside of the elder was actually hollow. She yelped when the hollow part exploded out with smoke, confetti, and a pigeon. The rat turned to her, licking its lips, and multiple red eyes appeared in the darkness behind it.
"Oh-Oh no…" Roll gulped as Elec Team managed to poke his head out, gasping for air.
"Roll-chan~, mou…I nearly went sleepy-sleep when you did that…!" Elec Team pouted before seeing the rat behind him, "…Uh oh."
"This way," the two turned to see a young woman, perhaps on the verge of adulthood, kneeling near a hole in the floor resembling a man's open mouth, "This is the only exit."
"A-Arigatou!" Roll nodded as she jumped into the mouth, still holding Elec Team, before the girl followed.
Megaman groaned as he stumbled along a tunnel. It was weird, though. He was having such a great dream. Roll wasn't going through Rampancy and NetNavis never had to worry about it. And just when he was being smothered by his growing maiden's bosom as she kept getting bigger and bigger, he blinked and ended up in the strange hallway he was in right now. Why was he here anyway? And who was screaming?
"Look out!"
"Huh?" Megaman looked up, getting an eyeful of a pair of yellow panties before Roll landed on him with a girl with shoulder-length brown hair in a pink dress under a white dress.
"Ite…" Roll hissed, "I should've tucked and rolled at the end."
"Are the big mouses gone?" Elec Team whimpered, trying to bury himself into Roll's sleeping gown for comfort.
"I think so," the brown-haired girl replied.
"Ahn~!" Roll let out before covering her mouth with a heavy blush.
"What's wrong?" the girl asked before looking down, "Um…You landed on someone's face."
Megaman groaned under Roll, his mouth filled with Roll's panty-covered womanhood. After a few minutes, they managed to untangle themselves with Roll and Megaman trying to avoid looking at each other with large blushes.
"Ne, ne, Onee-sama, who are you?" Elec Team asked, a pair of puppy ears and a puppy tail on him.
"My name is Benedictine."
"Oh, that sounds like a really nice name, Onee-sama!" Elec Team giggled, his puppy tail wagging.
"S-So you're not dreaming him?" Roll managed to ask.
"N-No," Megaman replied, "I…I didn't dream about my Elec Team Style being a little kid." It was then he heard squeaking, "Uh…"
"They're following us!" Roll freaked, grabbing Megaman and hugging him into her figure in fright.
"Ah! Not the big mouses!" Elec Team freaked, zipping over to Roll and hiding behind her.
"This way!" Megaman managed to get out.
He proceeded to pull himself out of Roll's grab to grab the two girls by the hands and ran off, Elec Team hugging tightly to Roll as she carried him in her free arm. The three began to run down the endless hallway before, after what felt like hours of running, skidded to a halt as they saw a large group of the monstrous rats before them. Looking behind, Roll saw more of them, effectively blocking them in.
"Mouse trap! I mean trapped by a mouse!" Megaman freaked.
"Oh no…!" Elec Team whimpered.
"Daijobu," Roll comforted, holding Elec Team close despite her own fear of the situation, 'If you die in a dream, do you die for real? Please let that movie's theory be a lie…!'
"Mwahahahahahahahahaha!"
"…Was that you?" Roll asked, looking down at Megaman.
"It wasn't me," Megaman replied before the rats to their left were all incinerated.
"Burn you foolish giants of a foolish fool's dreams!" Heat Guts roared madly, cackling at the end, as he burned them away with his buster arm's charged shot.
"Zeta Cannon!" the rats to their right were blasted apart as another Megaman, this one in darker blues with a bigger backpack, landed before the four.
"What is this?!" Megaman exclaimed.
"It appears that we may be sharing a dream," Roll turned around to see Wood Shield Megaman standing with a yellow Megaman with bulkier armor on his legs and a little extra armor on his arms and a red Megaman with a ninja-like design bearing an elongated helmet, high collar, and two wing-like scarf attachments, "As such, since we are parts of Megaman, we have physical forms here."
"Wood Shield!" Elec Team cheered.
"Tch!" Heat Guts snorted, "Why do you foolish fools get yourself trapped in these foolishly fool's foolish plots of foolery?"
"…What did he say?" Megaman asked.
"There are so many of you," Benedictine noted to Megaman.
"Greetings, I am Wood Shield Style Megaman," Wood Shield greeted before walking between them and towards an entrance that had been right beside them, "It would be best if we move together."
The others nodded while Heat Guts snorted. They followed Wood Shield down a massive spiraling red staircase. Wood Shield stopped before a door reading 'Underground.' Heat Gut moved/pushed Wood Shield out of the way before his fist doubled in size, letting him punch right through the wall. Light greeted them before chains suddenly ensnared everyone but Benedictine.
"Wh…What was this?!" Megaman pondered before looking beside him to see a ghostly image, "B-Benedictine?!"
"Even though you helped me, I am unable to help you," the girl apologized as she began to fade away.
"It…It's fine, Benedictine," Megaman assured before yelping at the sight of Morpheus's face, blue face paint over his eyes to make the left eye resemble a sun and the right a moon, "GAH!"
"They say dreams are a second life," Morpheus informed.
"What the…?! Wh-Who are you?!" Megaman exclaimed.
"Morpheus!" Roll realized as Elec Team was stuck between her breasts once more, thankful he was outwards instead of inwards this time.
"Hmmm…A member of OLYMPUS, then, if we assume that just because he is named after the Greek God of Sleep," Wood Shield examined.
"Life is but an opening act for your dreams," Morpheus went on, revealing the black bodysuit he wore with white trimmings on the ends of the sleeves and his neck-also making Megaman think he was some sort of clown or jester or something-, as he spread his hands out as if addressing an audience, a gold staff with a crescent moon on the top in his left hand, "and an utterly boring one at that, one might say. Or is life a dream we have until we fall into the deep sleep of death?!"
"D-Death?!" Megaman exclaimed as Morpheus closed his right hand and opened it away from him, revealing three different colored orbs in-between the fingers.
"Here is something known as a Dream Orb. What kind of dream shall I show you?" Morpheus crossed his arms, the three orbs being help up to the side of his face, "I suggest the Illusion of the Sleepless King."
"Illusion…of the Sleepless King?"
The spotlight shining on Morpheus move to the side of him as he explained, "Long, long ago in Creamland, there was a king who couldn't sleep. Unable to sleep morning, noon, or night, he couldn't dream. Once, the king was able to have a single daydream." Megaman's eyes widened as he saw Morpheus's shadow shift into the upper body a slumped skeleton in robes and a crown, "That is the Illusion of the Sleepless King." He closed his right hand and held out a red Dream Orb, "But to you, I give this." He held it out to them as it began to shine a bright red, "This one will bring back memories."
"Hey…Hey…!" her eyes processed as being heavy as she opened them, "Attagirl…Come on, you can do it. Wake up."
She let out a groan as she fully activated. Sitting up, she examined that she was in a bed of some sorts.
"Over here," a voice whispered, making her turn to a screen showing a young man's face, full of glee, "Good morning to you, Roll."
"Roll…That is my designation?" she asked.
"Yeah," the man nodded, "My name is Skye Sakurai. I made you."
"You are…my creator then?"
"Yeah. But I don't really like being called that, so just call me 'Skye,' m'kay?"
"Understood."
"Maa, maa, I forget NetNavis really have little to no personality to them when they first activate," Skye sighed, "Anyways, I made you for one purpose; to be with my little sister as a member of our family."
"Little sister?"
"Yeah. Today's her birthday and she just went out to take her morning shower," Skye grinned, "And you, my little dear, are her first gift. Ever since Lanny got his NetNavi, she's been hinting at one."
"Lanny?"
"Eh, just a nickname I have for Haruka's kid Lan," Skye shrugged, "Okay. I'm going to leave now, so make friendly with Maylu and don't be surprised that she gets excited at seeing you."
With that, Skye walked off, leaving Roll to observe the scenery behind him. It seemed to be that of a typical seven-year-old's bedroom. Minutes went by as Roll began to perform a self-diagnosis. A gasp made her look back at the screen while dismissing her arrow. On it was a little girl around seven with shoulder-length red hair, her jade eyes wide with awe and excitement.
"Greetings, I have been designated as 'Roll,'" Roll greeted, "You are the sister of Skye, correct?"
"I…I'm Maylu," the girl greeted before giving an excited squeal, "Oh my goodness! A NetNavi! Nii-chan made me a NetNavi!"
Roll observed the little girl as she seemed to want to bounce all over the place. Slowly, her lips moved upwards at the ends as she let out a strange noise to her (GT Note: she smiled and giggled). She liked observing her new operator like this. An hour or so later, Roll observed the new area from her new PeT. Her operator called it 'elementary school' and there were a numerous amount of humans both older, at, and younger than her operator about. Soon, she was placed into a network with a group or NetNavis.
"Hi," Roll turned her head to the right to see a blue NetNavi standing equal to her in height, "You're new here."
"My name is Roll. I was just activated this morning as a gift for my Network Operator Maylu Sakurai by her brother Skye Sakurai," Roll informed.
"Ah," the blue NetNavi nodded, "I'm Megaman. I've been with Lan for six months now."
"Skye informed me that he calls someone named Lan 'Lanny,'" Roll noted.
Megaman snorted back a sound unknown to her, "L-Lanny? Oh, I'm so gonna call him that later." Roll observed the ends of his mouth move upwards, "It's great to meet you, Roll. I hope we can be great friends."
"Roll!" Roll looked up from the doc file she was reading that she had recently downloaded to see Megaman running up.
"Hi, Megaman," Roll greeted with a small smile, "It's excellent to observe you again."
"It's great to see you, too," Megaman nodded, his hands behind his back, "Do you remember what today is?"
"Yes. It's Maylu's birthday," Roll replied.
"Not just hers," Megaman replied before pulling out a small box, "You said you were activated today, so it's your birthday, too. So happy birthday, Roll!"
"You…You want to give me a present just because I was activated?" Roll asked.
"Yeah," Megaman nodded, "Mom says that birthdays are always an important day."
"I process it, but I don't observe the results of this," Roll admitted.
"It's something I wanted to do for you, Roll," Megaman assured.
"Well…Thank you," Roll nodded as she accepted it and opened it, "…What is this?"
"Well…" Megaman spoke as Roll took out a heart-shaped locket, "I made you a locket with a picture of you and Maylu in it."
"I observe…" Roll nodded, opening the locket to see the picture, before smiling a little as she put it on, "Thank you, Megaman. I do not understand why you would perform this action, but I can process you want me to have this."
"Roll!" Megaman ran over to her, "We d…"
*SMACK*
Megaman stumbled a bit as a red mark shaped like a hand began to form on his face. He lightly grazed the hand with his fingers and winced a bit at the stinging sensation it gave him. Looking at Roll, he saw the tears in her eyes.
"Y…You big dummy!" Roll snapped, her body shaking, before tackling him, "Why? Why did you have to do it?! You could've been deleted!"
"If I didn't, then what do you think would've happened? Protoman was missing an arm, you were exhausted from keeping me stable so the Hub dot Batch could be downloaded," Megaman argued, "I had to do it. Otherwise, Wily would've won and millions of lives would've been lost!"
"You…You…!" Roll trembled before hugging him, burying herself into him as she started to sob, "You scared me so much! You…You just got a new program and…and you were on the verge of deletion the entire time I was attempting to keep you stabilized!" I…I've never observed you being so…so…!"
"Roll-chan…" Megaman whispered, the pink NetNavi tensing briefly as he hugged her closer, "I'm sorry I scared you. But…But I couldn't just leave, not without stopping Wily from hurting you, Maylu, Lan, everyone we know. You guys are my strength, my life. I…I don't think I could really go on without you guys there."
"…Mega-kun."
"Huh?"
"If…If you're going to start calling me 'Roll-chan,' then I inquire to address you as 'Mega-kun,'" Roll looked up at him, her eyes slightly red and puffy.
"…Sure," Megaman replied, "It's kinda nice, really. But only you get to call me that, okay?"
"Affirmative," Roll sniffled as she nuzzled into him, her crying softened.
"So this is Style Change…" Roll awed, running a hand along Megaman's new shield.
"Yeah. It…It kinda feels weird, though, like it just isn't me," Megaman admitted.
"Is it a glitch or something?" Roll asked.
"No idea. Al I know is that it doesn't feel like me," Megaman confirmed.
"Roll-chan, stop hugging me please," Megaman blushed, the red not matching his new yellow form.
"D'aw~ For some reason, my sensors are informing me that you're completely compatible with hugging right now," Roll replied/cooed.
"C'mon, Roll-chan~" Megaman whined, "Gutsman's laughing at me."
"Mmmm…Nope. Still processing the cuddling," Roll replied with a giggle.
"Son of a virus," Megaman muttered as Gutsman fell over, holding his stomach while laughing harder than before.
"Mega-kun, put me down!" Roll shouted.
"Sorry, Roll-chan, but you're too cute to put down," Megaman teased.
"C-Cute?" Roll stammered.
"I'm just getting back at you for Elec Team," Megaman smirked.
"Based on my observations, you process more hotheadedness than normal."
"Well, this form is a Fire Element."
"Glad to load that information," Roll smirked, "Now get me down NOW!"
"Wait. You can't access BattleChips in this form?" Roll asked, looking up from the new backpack Megaman sported.
"Yeah," Megaman replied, "It's weird, but it feels…powerful. Really powerful. At times, I don't really listen to Lan when I'm in this form."
"You're stating that you download…ambition?" Roll asked.
"Yeah…I guess I get too ambitious like this, but I also feel more creative in this form," Megaman admitted, "Like, I want to do more with a Program Advance than what it normally does, like turning Life Sword into an even stronger attack."
"…" Megaman looked down at his boots.
"…" Roll crossed her arms under her NaviMark, a scowl on her face.
"…" Megaman rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"…" Roll narrowed her eyes at him.
"…" Megaman opened his mouth.
"Up-puh-puh!" Roll put a finger to his mouth, shutting him up, "Mega-kun, you have no amount of processing to calculate how much I am angered with you again." She took a shaky breath, "If you think Maylu is not satisfied with Lan, then you don't know how much my dissatisfaction is with you right now. Not only did you fight another massive beast, not only did you battle someone that almost deleted you like Magicman almost did, not only did you let Lan stay in that room when the percentage was over 200 percent and deadly radiation would start coming out, but you never even told me you were doing it in person! I had to learn from a third source!"
'The one thing she's made about the most is that I didn't tell her I was going to fight a criminal organization?' Megaman sweatdropped before he saw her eyes start to water again, "Ah mou…! D-Don't cry, Roll-chan!"
"Y-You big jerk!" Roll barked, bonking him on the head.
"ITE!" Megaman yelped.
"BAKA! BAKA! BAKA!" Roll shouted, bonking him each time, "B-Baka! Baka…" her bonks got slower until she was sobbing into him again, "Baka…"
"Roll-chan…" Megaman whispered, holding her close again.
"Please…Please stop this Mega-kun," Roll begged, "I…I can't process why you keep going into these situations."
"It's not really my choice. Lan's got the PeT," Megaman replied.
"Please…Please don't go if this happens again," Roll softly begged, "I…I don't think I could store anymore of this stress…"
"I can't promise you that, but…I will promise that no matter what, I will come back here, to you," Megaman assured, running a hand through her hair as she sobbed into him.
"I don't favorite Ratty viruses…" Roll grumbled as she walked along the path to the ACDC Square.
"Roll-chan!" Roll looked over her shoulder to see Megaman running over, carrying something.
"Mega-kun?" Roll pondered as Megaman stopped before her.
"I…I brought you something," Megaman informed, "D…Dad wanted me to have it but I want you to have it." He held out a sphere of data, "It…It's an HP Hyper Boost. It's meant to triple a NetNavi's HP."
"What? But…But this is your program," Roll argued.
"Yes it's mine, so that means I can do what I want with it. And what I want to do with it is give this program to you," Megaman informed, "I…I saw you in the second round, NetBattling that HeelNavi that worked for the TV Studio. You were really great out there and…and it feels wrong that you didn't get to go to the finals. So I want you to take this program so that we can both get into the finals when another tournament is held. I want to face you in a NetBattle, Roll-chan."
"Mega-kun…" Roll whispered before hugging him, "Arigatou, Mega-kun."
Megaman smiled softly as he returned the embrace.
"So this isn't Elec Team?" Roll asked as Megaman was leading her somewhere.
"Nope. It's called Elec Ground Style," Megaman informed before moving out of her eyesight, "And this is what it can do!"
Roll gasped in awe as she saw the small rink of ice, sectioned off from everywhere else by a barrier of stone.
"Y…You made this?"
"Yeah. I can alter the land of the net in a small radius of my body in this Style," Megaman informed, "And I know you like skating, so…"
"…I…I do spend time examining different sources of ice skating…" Roll blushed, "A-Arigatou, Mega-kun."
Roll held her stomach as she laughed. Gutsman, on a visit, was growling as he kept trying to hit Megaman, but the NetNavi was too quick and crafty for him to hit. Gutsman punched and Megaman was replaced with a doll of himself in a puff of smoke. Gutsman grunted when a wash bin fell on his head before he collapsed, knocked out.
"And this is why I like Heat Shinobi Style," Megaman's voice came from behind Roll before his arms wrapped around her waist from behind, startling her.
"Kya!" Roll freaked, grabbing a wrist and throwing Megaman over her shoulder.
"Gwaaaa!" Megaman yelped as he went through the air before landing on Glyde and Gutsman, "…Ouch."
"Oh! Mega-kun, g-gomen nassai!" Roll bowed.
"I…I got your E-Mail just before Yai came over," Roll informed, the two in her PeT.
Megaman nodded, glancing out at the rough seas around the boat as it was prepared to head for Skull Island, "…I…I'm really worried."
"What?"
"Roll-chan, this isn't like with the Life Virus or the Grave Virus Beast," Megaman noted, "If…If Wily isn't stopped, then the Alpha…it…" he clenched his fists, "I won't let it kill anyone."
"Mega-kun, what are you…?!" Roll began before Megaman held her close, "?!"
"Roll-chan…You…You're my best friend, you know that, right?"
"Hai," Roll nodded.
"I…The last few months, I…" Megaman began.
"Megaman! Let's get going!" Lan's voice called.
Megaman frowned as he looked out of the PeT to see Lan on the boat. He slowly put a hand over his NaviMark, feeling his core's cracks through it. As he glanced over at Roll, he felt more cracks form.
"…I'm just, um…tired. I'm really tired," Megaman sighed under his breath, "I…I just want to rest."
"Mega-kun?" Megaman turned to Roll once more, a worried look on her face.
"…Roll-chan, I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Good b…" Roll began before her eyes widened, staying wide as his lips left her own.
"Don't say 'Goodbye,' Roll-chan," Megaman interrupted as he began to log out, "I hate goodbyes."
"HUUUUUUUUUUUB!-!-!-!" Lan cried out.
Megaman couldn't hear his pleas. The pain in his body was just too great to handle. Yet despite the shear agony coursing through his very code, despite feeling as if his entire body was being ripped apart molecule by molecule, his finals thoughts came to him.
'Roll-chan…sayonara,' Megaman thought, slowly closing his eyes as he took his last, the third stage finally ending as his core shattered, 'Aishiteru…my sakura no tenshi. Aishiteru…'
"Dreams, after all, are created simply from one's memory and thoughts," Morpheus informed as he waved his staff, causing the dream to fade into a dark room, a spotlight illuminating the wooden floor they were on, "That is why a pig will dream of a big feast. But people also seek a little entertainment as well. You've shown me something rather entertaining." He turned to the left, "Now then, everyone, a round of applause for this brave young girl and her friends."
"Huh?" Megaman blinked as a crowd applauded for him and his Style Changes, all of them upon a stage.
"Hmm…It looks as if everyone who is able to dream is here," Wood Shield noted.
"O-Oh! S-So many people…" Elec Team stammered as he shyly hid behind Wood Shield.
"Ugh! These foolish fools of a foolish fool's dreams in a foolish fool's place of foolish dreaming!" Heat Guts growled.
"Settle yourself, Heat Guts," Aqua Custom advised, smirking as he began to bow, "It would be rude to not bow to our audience."
Elec Ground yawned as he laid on his back on the stage, lazily waving at the crowd.
"The dream isn't over…" the group turned to look at Morpheus, "He's close now." He grasped his staff in his free hand, smiling at the crowd, "Sometimes being too brave can be problematic too. The devices of the magician's trade do not always work perfectly."
Heat Shadow tapped Roll's shoulder before discreetly pointing to the left of the stage. Roll looked and her eyes widened.
"This has got to be a bad dream," Megaman groaned.
"It…It's just a dream, right?" Elec Team whimpered, hiding behind Roll, as a plump Arabian man approached Morpheus, who turned and bowed to him.
"Welcome, Honorable Medaldo, sir. How are your injuries?"
"How are my injuries?" the man demanded narrowing his eyes, "Because you screwed up your 'sawing-a-human-in-half' trick with your pseudo-magic," he unsheathed both his blades, the few inches separating his left and right sides not bothering his movements, "I look like this! You have no idea how this has torn me up on the inside. I'll teach you a lesson!"
He swung his sword at Morpheus, who moved to the left to dodge. A chain that the left half was standing on went tight and he fell over. The scimitar fell through the air before a strong, young, callused hand caught it.
"Swinging something like that will get your two halves cut into four!" Skye advised, wearing a yellow jacket with a red scarf, before stabbing it into the ground and walked off, "Ja ne!"
"Sk-Skye?!" Roll gasped before they quickly followed.
Morpheus smiled as he watched them leave. Skye was the first to walk out of the tent, stopping once he was out to let the others follow.
"Sk-Skye?" Roll asked.
"This is interesting, isn't it?" Skye asked, smiling a little, "I've never had such a lucid dream before. Hm?" looking down, he saw a small hand tugging at his pants, "…" he smiled a little at Elec Team trying to get his attention, "Well, look at you. Up you go."
Elec Team giggled as he was put onto Skye's shoulders, a small, almost fatherly, look on his face.
"You…You know this is a dream world?" Megaman asked.
"I saw a red bouncing ball in my dream, so I knew it was a dream," Skye shrugged, "I think of my best ideas when I dream. Hopefully, Dite-chan saw a red bouncing ball, too."
The sound of fireworks earned their attention, making everyone look ahead to see a massive festival going on.
"A…Amazing!" Megaman exclaimed.
"All the dreams are coming together and starting some hubbub," Aqua Custom noted, seeing a pair of foxes-one rose, one brown-running along as a female clown in purples and greens followed while juggling a report card, dishes, and various cleaning materials give chase.
"If this is a festival, then I'm going to enjoy myself," Elec Ground shrugged as he walked over to a shooting gallery and began to play.
"Sugoi~!" Elec Team awed, looking at a large bunny rabbit plush near the strength testing game.
"Oh you like it, huh?" Skye asked.
"Uh-huh," Elec Team nodded, looking only at the bunny.
"Yo, I'd like to try for the rabbit there," Skye informed, handing Elec Team to Roll.
"Here you go!" the owner-Dex, surprisingly-grinned as he handed the hammer to Skye.
"Heave…" Skye began before tripping the Arabian man's right half, causing him to hit the bottom of the machine and sent the small bit on it upwards to hit the bell, "Ho!"
The crowd applauded as Skye took the rabbit and gave it to Elec Team. The man's left half emerged from the crowd as the right half recovered.
"You bastard!" the man roared, swinging his blades at Skye, "?!"
"There you go, you Shizno," Heat Shadow informed, his voice more akin to the machine Steven Hawkings uses to talk, as the man collapsed onto his back, releasing the blades now holding him together, "Trick complete."
"…I was not expecting that to be his voice," Aqua Custom admitted.
"Hush up, you fool," Heat Guts snorted as Elec Ground walked over, holing a small stuffed rabbit he had won.
"Seems I missed out on something," Elec Ground noted as Elec Team hugged Skye in glee while hugging his new, huge bunny.
"It's so fluffy!" Elec Team cheered, hugging the bunny for emphasis.
"Wow. Skye's really good with Elec Team," Megaman noted before looking between him and Roll, "B-Benedictine?!"
"You're okay!" Roll exclaimed, hugging the shorter girl into her bosom.
"Mmm!" Benedictine's muffled exclamation went off before Roll let her go.
"Ah. It is good to see you once again, my fair lady," Aqua Custom noted, taking the woman in princess's garb by the hand, lightly kissing it.
"This is strange," Megaman noted as he, Roll, and Benedictine rode of three horses, each one being Heat Guts, Aqua Custom, and Skye.
"Are these all your dreams, Benedictine?" Elec Ground asked as handed her a bouquet.
"That's right. I've wanted to be so many different things," Benedictine informed as they exited the movie tent, "But my biggest dream is…" the group saw her sad look, "Never mind. Oh, that looks good."
"Huh? What does?" Megaman asked, looking ahead before seeing Benedictine was gone, "Oh! She vanished again!"
"Talk about your strange lucid dreams," Skye chuckled, "This is so going into my dream journal."
"…" Heat Shadow walked over to a cage in the road and removed the doll in a wedding dress from within.
"Do you know why I stay in the dream world than in the real world?" Morpheus asked, appearing from the darkness of a tent, "For someone who has lost their home, anywhere in the world is a prison. You understand, do you know, Skye Sakurai? You're a free spirit like me, so you understand better than anyone the pain of loss. A man who has lost their precious gift has nowhere to truly go home to either, do you?"
"…" a flower bloomed in Skye's hand as he smirked, "Flowers without roots never bloom."
"Such an infantile trick," Morpheus smirked.
'There certainly wasn't ay gimmick or tricks to that human-sawing trick you did,' Megaman and Roll thought.
"Don't go disappearing on us just yet, Dr. Campari Freud," Skye smirked as Aphrodite wearing a magician assistant's uniform walked over with a tea pot with a lid in her hands, "Let me show you my magic trick before you go."
"Aphrodite?" Roll pondered as Aphrodite gently kissed Elec Team's cheek, earning a happy giggle from him.
Skye adjusted his white gloves as he knelt down with the tea kettle and a doll, "Now then…" he placed them together, "Let's try opening the lid to your soul, Dr. Freud."
With that, he opened the lid, letting out a golden light that turned into large golden orbs. He moved back as the doll began to grow and her dress turned to petals, exposing the nude form of Benedictine. Aphrodite put a jacket on her to protect her modesty. Morpheus's eyes widened slightly.
"Like I said before, flowers without roots won't bloom," Skye informed before he made a newspaper article with the doll on it appear in his hand, "This doll, it's from your homeland near the south of Creamland, isn't it?"
"It looks like the kind of doll that the Akicians made, as part of their tradition, in the likeness of a bride the day before her wedding ceremony," Aphrodite noted, "Still can't remember?"
Morpheus bit his fingers to the point they were bleeding, 'How do you expect me to remember? The village I was born in isn't even in my dreams anymore.'
"RELEASE ME, YOU FOOLISH OAFFISH FOOL'S FOOLISH FOOL!" everyone turned to see Gutsman, lifting Heat Guts up.
"Now, now! If you aren't busy and not in a hurry, I have something to show you," Gutsman informed, leading them into a tent, "What you're about to see is an untold tale of destiny." Once seated (and Heat Guts calmed down by Wood Shield's logical speaking), the curtains parted to reveal a village artwork, "Long ago, to the south of Creamland, there was a small settlement that lived in obscurity. While other places were all cold and freezing, they had the best spot in the area where it seemed as if it followed the seasons of other places around the world. The name of this village was Akacia!" string puppets rose up on the stage, "The people of this village were innocent, distrust being an alien concept to them. All of them were profound and excellent in the interpretation of dreams," the puppets began to dance around a wooden fire, "Honoring the sun and loving the wind, they lived in harmony with the earth. They lived their lives in peace."
"Oh, that sounds peaceful," Aphrodite softly noted, lightly petting Elec Team's head as she stayed in her lap, "I'd like to go there sometime, Sora-kun."
"But then!" Gutsman's voice made them look towards the stage to see puppets that wore pumpkins with beards for heads were not on the stage, aiming guns at the Akacia puppets, "All that changed when the bearded men came. Without warning, the men demanded the people leave their land." Aphrodite covered Elec Team's eyes just before one of the bearded men kicked an Akacian followed by all three bearded men 'beating up' the Akacians, "They became enraged when the people refused. The Akacians continued to refuse."
"His voice is changing," Wood Shield observed, looking at Gutsman.
"Then one day…" the crowd gasped as the stage lit up with flames, "The sun sneezed. And of course, this was the bearded men's punishment."
"G-Gutsman?" Roll gasped as she watched the NetNavi's body start to crack before falling apart slowly, exposing Morpheus within, "Morpheus!"
"…I understand now," Wood Shield noted as the emotionless, grey members of the audience were all shedding tears.
"After returning seven years later, there was no trace left of the village. Those damned bearded men of Creamland had utterly obliterated my beloved home," Morpheus informed, "And since the day I looked upon what had been my village, I have not dreamed." The flames swelled up, turning into a muscular, twelve-foot tall man in powerful red armor, a spear and a sword in hand, "That is why, I snatched u all those dreams from different people and fed off of them. When a man known as Ares discovered me, I agreed to work with him, obtaining a device that would force people into a deep slumber in a large area of it so that I may take the information from them while in their dreams." Morpheus clutched the Dream Orb tightly in his hand in the black abyss they were in, "I did it by using this sad little toy called a Dream Orb." He crushed the orb and dragons made of flames erupted around him and circled them, "All have been summoned by the Sun for ignoring the Moon! Rage! Rage that can be flame or ash. Burning rage, my only reminder of what became of my village!"
"That is where you are wrong," Aqua Custom informed as he fired an Omega Arrow Program Advance, destroying the dark abyss behind Morpheus, "Your village is fine; it's right behind you."
"Sugoi…!" Elec Team awed in Aphrodite's arms, gazing upon the large field of grass and scattered trees, dyed gold by the afternoon sun.
"Beautiful," Aphrodite noted, enjoying the gentle breeze as it played with the wheat scattered about the field.
"Th-This is…" Morpheus gasped, stepping into the new dream, "…the village of Akacia."
"Someone's coming," Elec Ground noted, the others looking out to see a pair of young teens-around the same age as Lan and Maylu-were running about.
"Is…Is that Benedictine?!" Megaman asked.
"These are you and Benedictine when you were children," Wood Shield addressed Dr. Freud.
"I remember a girl like that from the day of the festival. She came to this field to play," Dr. Freud informed, "There was time before the dance. It was dusk and this was my favorite place to watch the sunset." Aphrodite smiled softly, seeing the two young ones just lying on the grass, enjoying one another's company, "We talked about many things, mostly of the little things. After talking for a while, the girl asked me, 'What do you want to be when you grow up?'" the younger Freud's mouth moved at the same time his did, "'I want to be someone who can give dreams to others.' is what I told her." He looked down at his hands, "In the end, I turned into a peddler of dreams." The two children began to get up, "I asked the girl the same question in return. But just then, unfortunately, some others from the village appeared. As the girl stood up, I distinctly remember her saying, with a gentle and clear tone…" they couldn't hear what the girl said, but based on the surprised look on the younger Freud's face and the strong blush he began to form, it was a good one. "'I want to be your wife, Campari Freud.'" A tear fell from Dr. Freud's left eye, "she said."
"She…So the Benedictine we've been seeing this entire time…" Megaman whispered.
"A foolish fool's foolish dream of foolery," Heat Guts snorted bluntly.
"Shizno."
"Oh you did not just call me that!" Heat Guts growled at Heat Shadow before a Zeus Hammer slammed down on both their heads, Aqua Custom dismissing the weapons once they were used.
"That girl is alive somewhere in you, Mr. Freud," Aphrodite informed, looking at Benedictine, still in nothing but the coat Aphrodite had put on her, "And she's been waiting, all this time, without growing up."
Skye walked over and removed the jacket, causing Frued's eyes to widen, "Today is the day to keep that promise."
"Oh, so beautiful~" Roll awed as Freud tried to come up with something-anything-to say, but was speechless at the sight of the beautiful wedding dress Benedictine wore, a bouquet of white roses that seemed to glitter like stars held in her hands.
"Now then, Megaman, why don't you be a witness to their vows for them?" Skye asked.
"Eh? M-Me?!" Megaman pointed at himself in surprise.
"It is quite logical," Wood Shield noted, "Out of all of us, you would be the one who would last the longest without crying in a wedding that was not your own." He casually pointed at the other Style Changes, all in formal suits based on their colorations, all already starting to cry.
"Ugh…The foolish minds of the foolishly foolish fools who will foolishly foolish love one another foolishy for the rest of their foolish foolishly lives…" Heat Guts blubbered.
Megaman gulped, adjusting the bow on his ceremonial garbs, as he held the good book. Before him, Dr. Freud and Benedictine held each other's hands, looking solely at one another. Roll and Aphrodite rubbed their eyes with tissues, trying to stop the tears from trying to stain their dresses, and Elec Team was keeping the pillow with the rings steady in his hands.
"D…Doctor Campari Freud, Benedictine, do you promise to love each other all the days that the sun rises and sets?" Megaman asked, looking at the opened book for the words, "And pledge your love for each other to the divine light of God?"
The two looked towards Megaman with small, happy looks on their faces, "I do."
"I…I…I now pronounce you man and wife! Y-You may kiss the bride!" Megaman informed as he finally started to cry, "Congratulations!"
"That was quite the trick there, Skye Sakurai, Aphrodite Heart," Dr. Freud complimented.
"Megaman, Roll, I really would like for you to stay in this world," Benedictine noted as her eyes watered a bit "But…you have to go, don't you?"
"I think we've slept too much already," Megaman sheepishly replied.
"I'll wake you all up good then!" Dr. Freud smiled, tossing Megaman a Dream Orb.
"Ah!" Megaman caught the item before looking at it, "Wait…Is…Isn't this the…?"
Dr. Freud held his staff out to them, the bottom half now exposed to be the kettle Skye had used for his trick. The lid was gone, exposing the light within. Spheres of golden light danced out of the kettle and circled them.
"Farewell to you all. And I take back what I say…that the world is a prison," Dr. Freud continued, "Because, wherever the seeds land is home. Children of the earth…People of Akacia…Are your eyes so blue because you stare at the sky all day long?" the group began to fade away, "You may stumble, but it's only because you're gazing at the stars. You see them so clearly, that sight could be a religion. You may be betrayed by this cruel world, but my only wish is that you know this: The raspberry jam you made yesterday won't betray you."
Lan yawned as he rubbed his eyes, "Huh…? Wh…what's going on?"
"My face stings…" Yai groaned, her face red from having been pressed against her arms.
"Oh, thank goodness! You've all finally started to awake!" Glyde informed, appearing on the table with Gutsman.
"Why did you all go into sleep mode, Guts-guts? Even Megaman and Roll did too, guts," Gutsman scratched his head in confusion.
"We…We fell asleep?" Yai asked before picking up the movie case, "Guess this was too boring for us and we fell asleep." She pouted, "Oh, those liars! They said it was action-packed, suspenseful, and all around a good movie!"
"I…I dreamt I was a fox, playing around with another one," Lan noted.
"Same here," Maylu noted.
"I dreamt I was a queen of a glorious castle and that you were all knights of it," Yai smirked.
"I dreamt I was running a strength testing stand and Skye tripped this guy cut in half onto it to win this stuffed toy for this little kid," Dex noted.
"How does that work? If you're cut in half, you'd be dead," Yai frowned.
As the others talked, Megaman looked down at his right hand. Within it, the Illusion of the Sleepless King rested in it. Looking through it, he let out a soft gasp of awe. He quickly showed it to Roll, who awed when she gazed through it as well. Truly, it was a treasure amongst dreams.
Skye lowered the Dream Orb in his hand from his face and Aphrodite's face, "I hope his final dream never ends for him. Ne, Dite-chan?"
"Yes," Aphrodite replied, looking out at the ambulance as it loaded the still form of Dr. Freud into it as the police were looking over a strange device resembling a crescent moon, "To think that he was there."
Skye nodded, "Shall we get going then, Dite-chan? Those arms won't attach themselves to their sockets and align themselves properly."
Welcome everyone to your second challenge in this double update! Now that you've read the chapter, the same rules apply as last chapter. This time, you just need to correctly answer one of the questions.
1. In the dream world, there's someone there that shouldn't be there. Who is it and why should they not be there?
2. Does the name 'Freud' have anything to do with dreams? If so, how does it apply?
3. During the Middle Ages, what were dreams seen as and why?
Once again: Leave your answers in a review including any questions you have about this chapter, anything you liked, disliked, or wanted to point out in a review for this chapter. If no one gets at least one right in their initial review, I will put up a hint on my DeviantArt Account once I get enough guesses in reviews for this chapter. I will also only accept those guesses if, and only if, you put them in a review on here.