Hello, readers! Welcome back to "Sideline: Another Story". Last time, Fragment Hunter enjoyed spending time with Azalea's childhood friend and rising idol singer, Bianca Coloratura. After an encounter with some local gangbangers and Bianca's visit to a recording studio, the girls of Fragment Hunter have a sleepover with Bianca in her penthouse suite. While everyone went to bed for the night, Sunset seemed to have stumbled upon something in her dreams and has apparently met with her mentor's sister, Nocturne Celeste. How is the Huntress standing before Sunset? What did she mean by 'realm of dreams'? Find out now!
Wake Up!
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"What do you mean 'realm of dreams'," Sunset asked Nocturne as she looked around at the starry surroundings and stained glass platforms.
"It's exactly as I say," Nocturne stated. "You're in a location where dreams intersect with each other."
"But... how are you here," Sunset questioned. "How am I here?!"
"You told my sister that you had the power to explore another person's mind, correct," Nocturne asked. As Sunset nodded, the starry-haired Huntress continued. "Your Semblance may be an example of one that has 'surges' that cannot be turned off. Some Semblances are always active, such as one of my old classmate's and his 'Misfortune'. He can cause instances of bad luck to his enemies, but it also works on him because of these surges."
"Wow. I just thought that I might have activated my powers in my sleep," Sunset commented.
"That's the more likely explanation because you aren't hearing everyone's thoughts all the time in the real world," Nocturne remarked.
Sunset nodded in agreement before she returned to her earlier question. "How are you here anyway? I thought that your Semblance was being able to control shadows," Sunset asked.
"That is only one of the powers of my Semblance, Nightmare's Bane," Nocturne explained as she held out her hand and several stars floating around the two women moved toward her open palm. "I can enter dreams and manipulate them how I see fit," she said as the stars turned into shards of brightly colored glass before setting on fire and transforming into a bird with brightly-colored feathers. "As for how it allows me to control shadows in the real world, dreams and reality are two sides of the same coin. Same with light and darkness. The darkness of nightmares can be defeated and harnessed for more noble efforts," Nocturne elaborated as she waved her hands to transform the bird into a cloud of blossoms that froze over and turned into a living snowman that rested on her palm.
"Whoa... I wonder if I can do that stuff," Sunset remarked in awe.
"I believe that deep down, you do have the ability to accomplish many feats," Nocturne told the younger girl as she placed her hand on Sunset's shoulder. "You have a lot to discover about yourself and your friends. So, I suggest that we have a little fun by figuring those out," she added with a playful smile on her face as she pointed to all the other doors floating around them.
Sunset saw what Nocturne meant and smiled at the idea. "I like the way you think." Looking around at the various doors and emblems, Sunset and Nocturne began to figure out which dream to enter first. "Hmm... Let's see here. Counting my own dream, I've been in three so far," Sunset muttered to herself. "Azalea's dream was her surrounded by super adorable and cuddly animals while Lapis and a few of us were mermaids exploring some underwater ruins... We looked good as mermaids."
"Then how about we explore this one," Nocturne suggested as she gestured to a red door with a magic lamp emblem on it. "This one seems like it belongs to your friend, Layla Carbuncle."
"I wonder what she's dreaming about," Sunset mused before opening the door to reveal a stage with a shadow-covered crowd. After a few seconds, Layla stepped onto the stage and performed a captivating belly dancer for everyone watching her. When she finished her dance, Layla transformed into an adorable purple-furred monkey and started climbing the curtains before she was enveloped in colorful smoke and the stage vanished along with her. "Well, it seems to be like my dream earlier. Only with less cherry gelatin wasp nests," Sunset remarked and got an amused chuckle out of Nocturne.
Soon, the colored smoke returned and entered an ornate bottle. Sunset and Nocturne approached the bottle and they were transported to what looked like an enormous bedroom. Layla was now reclining on a large bed that looked like it could hold about ten people. "This is the life," Layla sighed contently before she and her dream's visitors saw more smoke appear. People began to appear from the smoke and Sunset immediately recognized them as members of Fragment Hunter as well as Team SSSN from Haven Academy, Yang Xiao Long, Weiss Schnee, and Bianca Coloratura. "I take it back. This is the life," Layla remarked as the bottle's visitors were suddenly clad in revealing clothes or outfits similar to her own.
"Okay, is she part of a harem? Or are they her harem," Sunset asked as she watched several of the females in the dream feed Team SSSN fresh fruits. "Either way, I think we now know that Layla's got some interesting dreams that fit her appearance."
"Agreed. Let's explore someone else's dreams," Nocturne said as she and Sunset watched Layla get kissed by the dream versions of Yang Xiao Long and Sun Wukong. When they exited the dream, Nocturne turned back to Sunset to speak with her. "Just so that you know, some dreams can be riskier than others to enter."
"Risky as in 'dangerous nightmares' or risky as in 'erotic dreams'," Sunset dryly asked.
"Both," Nocturne bluntly stated. "I remember exploring a few dreams that ended up becoming a little... intimate... I swear, sometimes you just can't look away. Dammit, Terracotta."
"Okay, I think that might be a little too much info," Sunset stated to try and move onto something else. "How about we explore somebody else's dreams? But if it ends up turning into another hot one like Layla's in the bottle, I'm leaving."
"Very well," Nocturne agreed. "How about you choose the next one?"
"Hmm... Huh? This one looks interesting," Sunset remarked as she saw a gray-colored door with Silver Wuruhi's name and emblem on it. "But given his behavior around Bianca from earlier, I have a feeling what this might become. Ah well, this is too much fun," Sunset said as she opened Silver's dream door and walked inside with Nocturne. When the two dreamwalkers entered, they found themselves in a forest to see Silver fighting against Yang Xiao Long and Celadon Flynn in a sparring match. After the two blondes punched Silver had enough to shatter a tree into pieces, Silver fell unconscious before opening his eyes to see Bianca Coloratura and that he was resting on her lap. "I knew it," Sunset remarked as she playfully rolled her eyes.
"Are you okay, Silver," the dream Bianca asked with a flirty tone. "Don't worry, your guardian angel will help you feel better," she said before she was suddenly wearing a nurse's uniform.
"Okay! Don't need to be here anymore," Sunset and Nocturne both said before leaving the dream faster enough to kick up clouds of dust. Shortly after, the dust clouds ran off as well.
"I called it," Sunset stated. "Then again, he is a teenage boy who met a hot blonde that was flirting with him when they first met."
"You wouldn't be surprised at how many of those I stumble across," Nocturne replied. "One more and maybe call it a night?"
"Yeah, maybe," Sunset answered as she started looking around for another dream to explore. "Hey, how did you even figure out this power of yours," Sunset asked.
"My Semblance? Well, I first discovered my power to explore the realm of dreams when I was a child," Nocturne explained. "Aurora was busy with her training, but I wanted to play with her. After she had finished for the day, she was exhausted and chose to get some sleep. I wanted her to wake up and play a game with me, but she was fast asleep. Soon, I ended up falling asleep next to her and I soon entered her dreams."
"Really? What was she dreaming about," Sunset asked.
"Well, it was a long time ago, but I still remember it fondly because it was the first time I unlocked my Semblance," Nocturne said. "My sister was dreaming about being a princess and waiting for her hero to come and save her from the Creatures of Grimm, but then they ended up turning into marshmallows and pancakes before a pack of hungry puppies ate them." Sunset and Nocturne laughed at the thought of what the latter described before continuing with the memory. "After I found Aurora, we talked about how I was able to enter her dreams and then we finally got to play as we tested my powers in the dream realm."
"Aww, that's so sweet," Sunset voiced.
"Yes, it's such a wonderful memory," Nocturne agreed. "How about this dream," she suggested as she pointed to a new door. It was viridian green with a gray border, had an iron horseshoe emblem, and the name on it read Slate Quartz.
"Maybe Slate's will be less sexual in nature," Sunset said to herself before opening the door. When they entered Slate's dream, they saw that Slate was facing off against somebody in a trick shooting contest. As the gunslinger of Team FCSA took aim, he fired his pistol and it only released a blast of confetti and made a fun party sound. "Hahaha! Could that get any funnier," Sunset asked before Slate tried to reach for more ammo, but noticed he was in his underwear. "It can," Sunset laughed as she saw Slate cover himself before diving into a locker from Beacon Academy and flying to the moon. Then, the locker turned into a bat which then transformed into Sunset Blaze. When the real Sunset saw her dream appearance, she saw that the dream copy was wearing a long red and black dress before revealing fangs in her mouth. "Huh. I look hot as a vampire," Sunset commented before the dream vampire version of herself was now in a duel against Jennifer Dawn of Team PRDT with Slate joining in halfway through the battle.
"As much fun as this would be to keep watching, I think we should return to the real world now," Nocturne stated.
"Oh, but it's just getting good," Sunset whined as she saw her dream counterpart summon Azalea to try and distract Slate while the battle went on.
"Now, young lady. Otherwise, we'll end up waking him up if he catches you. Then, you'll be forced out of his dream," Nocturne told the girl.
"Fine," Sunset reluctantly agreed and turned to walk out the door. When it closed on her, Sunset thought of something. "Hey, maybe I could wake up Azalea more often this way," Sunset said to herself. "That way, she doesn't oversleep."
"You could try, but I don't think you'll be able to find Azalea's dream anymore," Nocturne stated as she pointed to where Azalea's dream door used to be. Sunset saw that the door had vanished and Nocturne cut her off to answer the obvious question that was coming. "The reason you can't find the door is that she's awake now."
"Really? What time is it, then," Sunset asked.
"I'd have to say sunrise," Nocturne said. "You should get up now."
"Wait, won't I be tired because of all of this dream hopping," Sunset questioned.
"If it's like my Semblance when you enter the dream world, your body will have been in a sleep-like state that allows you to rest while your mind explores."
"That would be really helpful," Sunset commented. "Well, I guess I should get going. I'll see you around, Nocturne."
"Take care, Sunset. May the dreams you've explored grant you deeper insight into your abilities," Nocturne said with a bow before she vanished in a gust of wind that transformed her into stardust and blew away. Seeing the dramatic exit, Sunset soon saw multiple colors flash before her eyes before they faded away and were replaced by darkness.
Sunlight shined on Sunset's face as she began to wake up from her adventure in the dream realm. Sitting up, she saw that several of the other girls were still asleep. Heading to the penthouse suite's shower, Sunset saw that somebody was already in it and that Bianca was drying off her wings. "Sunset, perfect timing," Bianca said as she saw the fiery-haired girl. "Can you help me with my wings? They're a pain to deal with on my own."
"Sure thing," Sunset agreed and helped Bianca out. "So, what do we have to do later today again?"
"Meeting up with the band that's going to play with me during my concert," Bianca replied as flapped her wings when Sunset finished helping her. "After that, I'm doing an appearance at a local community center for charity."
"Sounds like a busy day ahead of us," Sunset remarked as the shower stopped running and the girl who was inside grabbed a towel that was hanging on the side. Opening the shower door, Azalea wrapped herself in a fluffy white towel to see that Sunset was looking at her. "Azalea! You'll never guess what happened last night while we were asleep!"
"What happened," Azalea asked as she grabbed a smaller towel to dry her hair.
"I can use my Semblance in my sleep to explore dreams," Sunset exclaimed with a big giddy smile on her face.
"You can!? That's amazing," Azalea said as she hugged Sunset tightly. "What was it like?"
"I'll tell everyone later," Sunset told her friend. "But I will say this, some of them were weird."
After all of Fragment Hunter got up and went on with the day, they talked about Sunset's newest discovery about her powers. "Amazing! You can do that now," Celadon asked.
"Yup. All of those dreams, I managed to see each of them," Sunset replied before looking at an embarrassed Silver and Layla. The two were laughing sheepishly as they walked at the back of the group. "Hormonal teenager dreams aside, I'm surprised that I can do stuff like this," Sunset said. "I wonder what my limit is?"
"I'm sure you'll find out in the future," Terracotta remarked as he lead the teenagers and Kurenai to their destination. As they walked through the city, the Bull Faunus soon stopped dead in his tracks and looked around. "Hmm..."
"Dad? What's wrong," Azalea asked. Suddenly, a loud noise was heard and it wasn't too far from Fragment Hunter's location. Everyone went to see what it was as emergency sirens sounded off and they saw a that a train had crashed into the city. Looking at the damage, Azalea and the others saw Team RWBY was in the wreckage of the train and looked fine. "What happened to them? Did their mission end up causing this?"
As Azalea and the others wondered what was going on, a loud rumbling was heard from underground and something erupted from the same crash site Team RWBY was at. Everyone looking on saw the familiar and frightening black monsters that had appeared with the train wreck and panicked. The Creatures of Grimm had breached into Vale. Watching numerous types of Grimm charge through the city and target innocent civilians, Fragment Hunter knew that they had a job to do when Terracotta turned back to them. "Split up! Protect Bianca and Kurenai, rescue any bystanders, and deal with the Grimm," Terracotta said as he drew his sword and prepared for battle.
Alrighty! Now with this chapter ending, we're now at the Volume 2 finale, "Breach"! I wanted to get to this scene at the end of the previous chapter, but I thought that the whole dream world thing would've been perfect to show off more of both Sunset and Nocturne. With that out of the way, we'll now get onto what Fragment Hunter does during the end of Volume 2. Prepare yourselves for the next chapter, "Breach: Another Story"!
At Chapter 25, I'll be focusing on some more points that take place between Volume 2 and Volume 3. Like what were other students up to while Team RWBY was dealing with the events of "RWBY: Grimm Eclipse" and some other time before the Vytal Festival began. Hopefully, I'll be able to start the actual tournament with my Original Characters around Chapter 30 or so. But in any case, I'm excited to keep writing more of my fanfic as it keeps going on.
WaterDragonMaverick, signing out!