"A Nightmare to Remember" by Ryley Breen AKA Shadow Master
email : rybreen@theberries.ns.ca
Elisa Maza's Mind, Dream Plain, 9:29 p.m
What the hell!? Elisa thought to herself as she looked at the environment around her with uneasy glances.
Her mind was a fog at the moment, unable to tell her where she was or how she had gotten there in the first place. All about her the terrain was unusual, trees that looked like green lollipops and collumns of stone seemed to pop up out of nowhere without any tell-tale signs at the base of how it was formed. Carefully she gave her head a good shake or two to try and clear the fog from her head and jog a few memories that might help her. In a way her desire for clues as to her current predicament was fulfilled but not in the way that she had been aiming for at all. Her clothes felt funny and distinctly unfamiliar from her usual jeans and a T-shirt she wore to work and just about everywhere else. Looking down at herself she saw the reason for the unfamiliar sensations when instead of seeing her usual clothing she found herself wearing some sort of martial arts gui. It was a combination of orange and blue with orange being the dominant color by far since the blue only made up the undershirt. Just then she was overcome by a sense of familiarity, as though he had seen clothes like this before, but was fairly certain that she had never worn them herself. Unfortunatly just as quickly as it had emerged the sense of familiarity disappeared leaving her with only her own reasoning skills to help out of the current predicament.
Well no sense just standing around like some stoned idiot. , Elisa thought to herself as she looked around the area, Might as well get a good look at myself before I go off exploring.
Eventually she spotted a nearbye lake and within a few moments was looking down at her reflection in disappointment for reasons other than a lack of new information. Her image was pretty much the same as she had seen earlier when she had looked at herself but now she had an unbiased look at her hair and she grimaced. Her hair was a mess and it spiked out at random spots as far as inch in some places. Carefully rubbing her right hand through it she could feel a few spots where it had gotten tangled up but otherwise it was remarkably clean.
As clean as hair can get without shampoo or a decent hairdresser anyway! she thought sarcastically as she tried to smooth out a few of the more pronounced spikes.
Other than the revelation of the locks there wasn't much new to be discovered about her appearance other than the fact that she was a bit more muscular than she remembered herself to be. She was nowhere near any of those Miss Universe bodybuilders in appearance but she could almost see a few veins beneath the surface. Turning around she began to move away from the lake to see what else was in the area when she began to hear a bubbling sound coming from the lake. It was something like what you would normally here from a boiling pot but she knew that couldn't be the case since water couldn't spontaneously boil in the space of a few seconds. Still her nagging curiousity got the better of her and she turned back to the lake to see what was making it boil. When she set her eyes on the lake she found that it wasn't the entire lake that was boiling but instead just a small portion of it right at the edge where she had been a few moments before. Cautiously she approached the bubbling circle in the lake, peeking over the edge as far as she could see in the hopes that might be able to see beneath the surface to see the cause of it all. Step by step she came closer to the edge but the bubbling water was still distorting what lay beneath the surface. With one final step she reached the exact spot where she had been when inspecting her appearance but she was given no spare seconds to do it again as the water exploded outward. Momentarily blinded by the water she was caught completely unaware as something slammed into her jaw sending her flying away easily a few dozen feet. With jarring swiftnes she came to a stop as she impacted into the surface of one of the pillars of stone.
For a few moments her vision was little more then a blurry mix of colors not unlike a childs fingerpainting masterpiece. Her hearing wasn't much better since her ears seemed to be filled with a kind of cotton that just wouldn't come out. Despite this she could hear someone laughing just a few feet in front of her, a rasping gravelling laugh that seemed distinctly familiar in a way that chilled her soul. In a few moments though her hearing began to improve and the laugh lost the rasping quality which only left behind the voice that reminded her of her drill instructor at the police academy. Looking up she saw that she had come face to face with an enourmous bald man with a mustache and muscles the size of her head. He was dressed in some kind of body armor that was obviously designed for the purpose of showing off the brutes physique for intimidation purposes. He was looking down at her with an evil glint in his eyes that left no doubt in her mind that he had been the one that had nailed her before. Slowly she wrenched herelf from the side of the pillar but her body was still numb from the blow and it would take a few minutes to get her strength back. The best thing she could do now would be to get this brute talking and hope he was the type of bully that liked the sound of his own voice.
"Okay big guy, you got me pretty good with that one." , she said as she watched him carefully for another attack, "Howsabout you give me a name to go with the fist?"
"The name's Nappa you little low-class runt, second strongest Saiyan in the known galaxy and right now your worst nightmare!!" Nappa replied with a yell as he fired another punch in her direction.
Reacting instantly she jumped to the side as fast as she could to avoid the blow since her arms were still too weak to block it. Unfortunatly she reacted a few seconds to late and was hit with a glancing blow to her side sending her back into the stone pillar but this time going a little deeper. On the plus side she didn't stay imbedded in the stone pillar but on the bad side she could barely hear the customary sound one heard right before an apartment building collapsed. Not entirely knowing which way was the proper way to jump she decided to pick one at random and hoped she didn't wind up feeling crushed as a result. Coiling her legs she surged foreward at breakneck speed hoping to be able to get out of the range of the pillar before it could hit her. Just then she sensed something ahead of her so she took a quick turn to the right to avoid it and was rewarded with a surprised 'wha?' that probably came from Nappa. Any sound that might have followed were drowned out by a thunderous boom as the pillar hit the ground causing the earth to tremble. Uncertain as she was with her feet she was knocked to her hands and knees by the tremors but thankfully that was all. Her breaths came rapidly as she tried to suck in as much air as she could but all of a sudden she felt a sharp pain in her side and she could tell that she had probably bruised a few ribs. Slowly she got to her feet and looked behind her to see if there was any sign of the big brute that had caused most of her suffering up until this point. It was difficult to see much of the stone pillar with all the dirt it had thrown into the air but from what little she could see at the moment it looked like the guy was down for the count.
Before she could celebrate at all something rammed into her from behind causing her to scream in pain as her ribs once more took a powerful blow. She had only just finished screaming before something else plowed into her midsection forcing out all the remaining air leaving her on her knees trying to breath again. More out of the need to put a face to her pain than anything else Elisa turned her head upward to see the face of her attacker only too see a small man in white and yellow armor like the other one. This thug however didn't have huge muscles and looked kinda like those Ranger people that kids were watching nowerdays but with a spiky haircut that rivalled her own. Just then it came to her, as soon as she thought about that kids show she remembered all at once where she had seen these two strong-armed thugs before and who had been wearing a get up like hers. It had been a few weeks ago and Matt had invited her over to watch a few movies with him. Little had she known that they weren't going to be any Steven Segals or Antonio Banderases in it at all but instead some animated films that Matt called 'Anime style cartoon movies'. She hadn't really paid any serious attention to the movies for the most part since she had long ago grown out of that particular part of her childhood. Eventually though she found herself surprisingly looking at the screen for longer periods of time and actually reading the subtitles when a character spoke. By the time the last movie was halfway through she was enjoying herself quite a bit though she would never admit it to Matt face-to-face. The last film was based on a show called Dragon Ball Z which was, according to Matt, currently being dubbed into english by Bandai inc. It was from that movie that she recognised the two people who had attacked her, the big one Nappa before and this small one now.
Fortunatly I now know a helluva lot more than just their names! she thought to herself with a smile as she prepared to kick it into overdrive.
"Well done Kakarot! You managed to kill poor Nappa!" , the small warrior said with malevolant approval, "I'm afraid though that that's going to be your final victory though because I'm going to send you on a trip to the next dimension!"
"Don't bet on it Vegita!" Elisa replied with a grin that only got wider as the look of shock appeared on the saiyan midget's face.
Not waiting for a response she surged to her feet and delivered a powerful right uppercut that sent Vegita flying away. Firing her energy field to life she flew off after him like she had seen the hero Goku do in the movie when he fought an opponant of great power. In a way it was wierd to find herself flying at such great speed without the aide of Goliath but at the moment she was almost enjoying herself. If it wasn't for the fact that she was fighting for her life and that any single second of delay could kill her she would definitly be enjoying herself. Turning back to the task at hand she brought her fist back and prepared to let loose with a another strong punch that would send the former Saiyan Prince into the ground. Finally close enough she fired the punch down towards his stomach and right before it would have connected Vegita disappeared right before her eyes. About five seconds later she felt someone tackle her from behind but this time she was ready for them and immediatly bucked her hip up like a bronco and threw Vegita off before shutting down her energy feild and landing on the ground.
Looking around she tried to mimic what the character she was dressed as did when he was trying to locate an enemy that was moving too fast for him too see, hoping that she would be able to do the same. For a few seconds it seemed as though the chi-sensing ability was not a part of this package but then it slowly began to fade into focus. He was moving pretty quickly and she believed that she was only seeing where he had been rather than where he was and that could be a problem. Tightening her focus even more she searched for him and a split second later she sensed him right *behind* her! Quickly she darted foreward, rolled and came back to her feet before turning to face her enemy. When she looked to where she had previously been she saw him for only a split second before he disappeared again, moving too fast for her eyes to detect. Slipping back into her scanning state she searched for the energy of Vegita, hoping that this time she would recieve a little more warning and thus have time to counter attack. Unfortunatly if she was at the power level that Goku was at in the beginning when he fought the first saiyan Raditz she wasn't going to last very long.
Minutes seemed to pass as she tried to locate her enemy but she was only able to sense him for brief moments before he would shoot off in another direction. This act was a bit at odds with how the cartoon character version had acted during a fight, usually Vegita couldn't wait to feel his fist make contact with an opponants face. This only seemed to add to the nagging sensation that had been at the back of her mind since this wierd surreal encounter had started. Something wasn't right here but try as she might she couldn't identify the problem, it was almost as if her mind was chasing the facts around inside her head but someone else had them and was playing 'keep away'. Not that she was in the ideal situation to ponder the situation with a killing machine zipping around her and looking for a weak spot in her defenses. Just then something clicked in her mind at the mention of a 'killing machine', something that made her think she was in even more trouble than she realized. Just then her chi-sense flared and he dove foreward just ahead a massive explosion that tore up the ground where she had been before.
"Wakey, wakey Kakarot! It's bad form to let your mind wander in the middle of a fight!" cackled Vegita's voice from behind her before he shot off again in another direction.
I have to end this quick before he gets tired of this and decides to finish me off! Elisa thought as she redoubled her efforts to lock on to her adversary.
For a while it looked as though she would have to rely on trying to anticipate where he would be next and getting there before him but just before hope ran out her mind clicked into crystal clear clarity. She knew where he was and where he was heading almost exactly and that meant she could set up a little surprise for him when he arrived. Quietly she followed his path in her mind, noting how long he stopped at any one spot and how fast he was going between stops. When all her estimates were done she gathered up her energy and spun around to face her target.
"KA_MEA_HA_MEA_HAAA!" she yelled and with a burst of light fired a beam of bright blue energy from the palms of her hands right into Vegita's path.
Of course he could have easily avoided the blast had he been going slower but at the speed he was going it would have been almost impossible to avoid the blast entirely. Which of course is exactly the way she had planned it to work before she attacked and smiled with satisfaction as the blast made contact. She could feel the saiyan prince trying to push her blast back but for every few inches he pushed it back she managed to get it one foot closer. Finally with everything he had left she gave one final push and watched as the blast overcame Vegita causing him to go on the same trip he had intend to send her on. Shutting down the beam she dropped her arms from their firing positions and relaxed as she let her guard down. With nothing around attacking her there was no longer any reason to be so tense and alert so she could afford to let herself go. Just then she thought she heard the sound of someone groaning and almost let out a groan of her own as she turned back to where Vegita had been before she had defeated him. Elisa almost let her jaw drop as he saw a smoldering head try to right itself, she wasn't completely certain but in the Anime movie there was never anything left after someone was sent to the next dimension. Curious and more than a little afraid she slowly advanced on the groaning head, dread began to fill her as she tried to figure out what was going on.
"Oooohhhh, that bitch sure packs a punch!" , groaned the head with a familiar scratchy voice, "An' why the hell couldn't I tell what she was going to do next!?"
With visible exertion the head finally righted itself and for the first time Elisa could see the face of the object that was causing her so much fear. It was a man's face but it had completely different bone structures and eyes than Vegita and it didn't take a second before she matched them to someone she recognised. Suddenly everything she had seen, felt and heard since she got to this place made sense it a very wrong way. Almost immediatly she began to try every trick she had ever heard of for waking yourself up but nothing worked. Not that she had ever really expected it to work with him around but instincts ingrained into her very being had demanded that she try. When the burnt head finally noticed her she knew she was in trouble and his sick sadistic laugh confirmed those fears with the certainty of the grave.
"Nice going bitch!!" , Freddy said as his head began to rise up into the air, "Nice blow job but you're going to haveta to better than that!!"
Almost immediatly his head began to scream as if he was on fire, writhing and twisting as though it still had a body. Then , bit by bit, she began to see mounds of flesh beging to grow out of the burnt man's neck. Second by second it game flowing out like lava, filling the space beneath the head like it was filling an invisible mold. A minute or two later it was done but thankfully before she had a chance to see too much crimson and green flames covered his body before becoming his familiar sweater and pants. Then with a little fancy showboating he seemed to pluck his dusty old hat out of the air and placed it on his head. Feeling an attack was immanent she took on a defensive posture and waited for him to make the first move. To this Freddy simply smiled and wagged a finger in her general direction all the while laughing softly under his breath.
"Unh, unh uuhhnn bitch! You're a little too spunky for my liking so I'm gonna go find someone else to play with!" , Krueger said tauntingly as he looked her straight in the eyes with a look of pure evil, "Care to guess who?!"
Without saying another word he shot into the air and streaked towards the horizon like a mad comet and left Elisa behind to piece together what he meant by that last question. Frantically she tried to deduce what he was taunting her with and who he could possibly be after next now that he was through playing with her. She knew that the clan was safe since they were awake and watching the Xanatos' and Matt while they slept. So what was it he could be after? Just then the entire area shook with the force of an eight point three on the rictor scale causing her to almost lose her balance completely. Off in the distance she could see an enourmous cloud of smoke shooting up into the sky and immediatly realized that what had caused the ground to shake was the mother of all explosions. Not even stopping to debate the wisdom of rushing headlong into something she knew nothing about she fired up the energy field that was a part of her dream self and flew off towards ground zero of the blast.
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The Real World, 9:50p.m
Goliath's mind was reeling as he forced his wings to give him the speed necessary with the form of Elisa who at the moment was *flying* away from him with no visible signs of propulsion. He had tried to keep her contained in her apartment for as long as he could in the hope that she would eventually come to but after an unexpected burst of speed she had managed to crash through her skylight window. From there it had been only a few seconds before she had somehow taken flight and he took off after her with all the speed his wings could muster. Unfortunatly due to his size he was not the fastest flier in the clan and the only reason he was even able to keep up with his friend was thanks to his large wingspan. Still he wasn't going to be able to keep this pace up for much longer and Elisa showed no signs of slowing down or even preparing to do so a short time from now. He would not give up though, he would follow her for as long as he was able in the hopes that he would be able to save his clanmate from whatever grizzly fate Freddy had in store for her. Just then he heard his earpiece begin to crackle with static indicating that someone was trying to get in touch with him. Keeping his eyes firmly on Elisa he reached down and after taking the earpiece from his pouch placed it in his ear.
"Yes?" he asked pointedly since he was a little angry for this distraction no matter how small it was in reality.
"Goliath! Something is happening to Matt, he's jumping all over the place light racketball from hell!" , Lex replied with great concern as sounds of a scuffle could be heard in the background, "We're trying to hold him down but everytime we get close he just throws us across the room!"
"It's Freddy's work, he has Elisa under his control as well." , Goliath declared as his concerned went up a few notches, "Do what you can to prevent him from leaving his apartment, I will try and get there as soon as I have woken Elisa."
Just then the sound of glass shattering filled his earpiece and he realised that his advice had come just a few moments too late. Shaking his head to rid his mind of the fear that was beginning to manifest itself he quickly assessed the situation as well as any options he had at his disposal. Now that Matt was gone and apparently flying the same as Elisa was it is possible that they might wind up at the same spot before Krueger decided to kill them. If that was the case then there was chance that they might be able to set a trap for the monster and rescue their two friends at the same time. Thinking quickly he tried to discern what general direction Elisa was heading in and then what direction Matt would mosty likely be coming from in order to deduce what the point of convergence would be. When he finally came up with an answer he grinned a bit in satisfaction as he determined that their most likely convergence point would be central park. It was an ideal place for an ambush since it was not only close to the castle but also because it provided them with the one element certain to wake up both of the detectives.
Quickly adjusting the radio gear to transmit instead of recieve he began to lay the lines of his trap.
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