Chasing a Dream

Getting booted into another reality after burning to death is really not my idea of a good time. Neither is finding myself in a world of my own, infested by gangster cats. On the other hand, being kind of the world is kinda fun. I could have done without getting stuck in an angsty brats head though.

I rather like Dream Eater Merry. Out of all the characters, my favorite is John Doe, as proven by my avatar. With that in mind, its surprising I haven't done a DEM story yet. Oh well, now we're here to fix that! Its a crossover and take a wild stab at what the other world is. Should be interesting. Enjoy!

Chapter 1

Time for a quick lesson in Caveman 101. Fire hot, ow! And now for another obvious statement. Dieing sucks. Trust me, I know both of them first hand since I was burnt to death, flash fried in a fireball that quite literally came from nowhere. Fortunately, it didn't take long for the fire to kill me since, for the few seconds I was burning alive, it REALLY FUCKING HURT!

What I wasn't expecting was to wake up. When I next opened my eyes, it was to find myself standing in a perfectly circular chamber with a large number of mirrors and screens of various shapes and sizes covering the walls, each showing a different scene. In the center of the chamber was a swivel chair surrounded by keyboards and control panels, each of which was connected to an arm that allowed it to be moved.

Lounging in the chair, fast asleep with a string of drool leaking from his mouth was a man with short, brown hair that looked like it hadn't seen a brush in weeks, a five day beard, pale skin and a pair of square, black framed glasses that had fallen crooked. He was wearing tired looking jeans and a tatty shirt that had once been white, but had long since turned grey from to many washings.

I hesitated for a moment, before deciding that there was no point in standing around all day, so I walked over to the sleeping man and gently shook his shoulder. He snorted and tried to roll over, only to fall of his chair with a crash, before shooting to his feet with his glasses on upside down.

"I'm up, I'm up!" he shouted, "I wasn't sleeping on the job, honest!"

His accent placed his nationality as british and his awakening showed his eyes to be green.

"Wait, you're not the boss," said the man as he spotted me, "How did you get here?"

"Thats a very good question," I said, "Last thing I remember is burning to death."

The young man raised an eyebrow and turned in his chair to face his many control panels, bringing up a file on screen with my face on it.

"Hmm, lets see, John Doe, age 16, species human, scheduled to come up here never. Huh, interesting."

He turned to me.

"This is you isn't it?"

I nodded.

"Why is species on there?"

"There are more things between heaven and hell than appear in dreams of men," said the young man, "I watch over a lot of worlds and many different species so its kinda necessary."

"What do you mean?" I asked, "Who are you anyway?"

The man looked up.

"Oh, sorry," he said, "I should have introduced myself. I'm Dis Lexic, an Overseer of the Multiverse. Its my job to keep this segment of Creation working and making sure that any issues are dealt with before they get big enough for the man upstairs to get involved."

"So what, your an Angel or something?" I asked.

"Not exactly," said Dis, "I'm more like a technician. The Angels are the Almighties strong right arm, his police force if you will."

"Right," I said, not quite sure what to make of the explanation, "So why am I here exactly?"

"Because you died before your allotted time," said Dis, "It happens occasionally and always makes a total mess of things."

"Why?"

"Because the Souls can only go to heaven or hell after their allotted time has past," said Dis, "You were supposed to live for another 20 years and die when your homeworld was attacked by an interdimensional space whale."

I blinked a couple of times and raised a finger.

"Ahh…"

"Yes, I do mean Scion."

I put my finger down. Well, that was one way to go I guess.

"So what now?" I asked, "Are you going to send me back?"

"Your body in your old dimension was nearly completely destroyed," said Dis, "Besides, time passes differently here and you've already been buried. You can't move on and you can't go back to your old dimension, the only thing I can do is shift you sideways."

"Sideways?"

"Into a different dimension," explained Dis, "It'll be one you recognize and I expect you won't end up being entirely normal."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"When people get shifted sideways, they tend to change," said Dis, "I still have no idea why. Just be thankful you won't be an Outsider. They always get screwed over by Fate."

I gulped.

"Soo, where am I going?"

"Pick a door," said Dis, indicating to a pair of identical doors that hadn't been there before.

"Where do they lead?" I asked.

"Your new home," said the Overseer, "Not even I know where they lead. Don't worry, though, I've already taken steps to make sure you don't get consumed by whatever power you gain. You'll start again with a clean slate, new memories and a new life."

I paused, my hand inches from one of the door handles.

"I won't remember my past?"

Dis shook his head.

"You will," he said, But those memories will be overtaken by new ones and suppressed. They'll be there, but they won't be important. Its how we prevent those we have to shift from getting homesick."

I swallowed and turned back to the door.

"Alright, you can do this," I muttered and opened the door.

The next thing I knew, I was staring up at a greenish sky with a few wispy clouds, a beam of red light that looked like it came from a lighthouse shining from somewhere out of sight and what looked like gigantic fish skeletons hanging in the air. Um, wut? I slowly sat up and looked around. I was in what looked like a run down port city made up of broken, boarded up wooden buildings with trash cans, high walls and more giant fish skeletons floating in the air. I could also see some discarded cans that looked like pet food cans.

"Where the fuck am I?" I asked incredulously.

As if to answer my question, there was a flash of light and a note appeared in my hand.

Good god, and I thought someone turning into an AI was weird! Alright kid, listen up. Somehow, you seem to have found yourself stuck in a world between worlds, specifically the Dream Realm. Now, I would try and get you out to finish the job, but you seem to have already become one with the Dream World and your entire body and being has changed. Your no longer Human, but a Dream Demon. Admittedly, this does make things easier for me since I don't need to worry about fixing you up with an ID, but it'll be pretty boring if you just stay there. For you as well as me. With that in mind, follow the light!

I blinked as a blinding, golden light appeared in the sky, drowning out the red light with ease. I blinked again as what Dis had said sank in.

"Wait, are you telling me I've turned into the Chaser?!" I spluttered.

Exactly.

My eye twitched.

"I'm not possessing anyone."

Then don't. The light just leads to a Human world I picked at random. If you want to go, go, if you don't, don't. And if you do go, you don't have to possess anyone, although you will need a vessel if you want to get anything done.

Anyway, I've got to go now. Have fun!

The note vanished and my eye twitched a third time.

"FUCK YOUUUUU!"

I quickly discovered that being what amounted to a god in a very enclosed world was very boring. Oh, I occasionally got some interest distractions when a Human dipped into my Garden during sleep, but even that quickly lost its charm. Even the army of cats and adorable cat girls that inhabited my Garden quickly got boring! How does an army of fucking CATs get BORING?!

To make matters worse, the beam of light Dis stuck in the sky hung there mockingly, promising something interesting to do if I just followed it. On the other hand, if I did that, I wouldn't be able to get back to the Dream World again...actually, why am I still sitting here again? Oh yeah, misplaced pride.

"Fuck it," I growled under my breath, "I'm not proving anything by sitting here like a stubborn idiot. Lets go fuck with the Human World!"

I stood from my throne and focused. There was a sensation much like a plane taking off and I my world shattered, leaving me floating in a black space with a massive web of lights that represented the minds of every single Human being connected to the Dream World. There were rather a lot. However, I wasn't interested in most of them, just the ones that were compatible with me. I had no intention of possessing whoever became my Host, but that didn't mean I wouldn't skimp on finding a mind where I'd actually be comfortable.

I was about to pick one at random when I suddenly felt a blast of loneliness so intense I actually stumbled, despite the fact I didn't technically have a body at that moment. Curious and more than a little worried, I pushed aside the mind I was about to jump into and focused on the mind the feeling had come from. To my surprise, it was a near perfect match for me, meaning that I could easily insert my Garden with no problem at all. So lets see, a lonely mind thats a near perfect fit? I didn't even hesitate to dive in.

My Garden reformed around me and I summoned Jericho, the leader of my Little Chasers.

"Need somethin' boss?" said the tiger striped tabby as he landed behind me.

"Keep an eye open," I said, "When our new host arrives, guide them to me. Don't hurt them or scare them to badly, just get them here."

"Understood," said the cat and ran off to let his men know what I wanted.

I remained where I was, eyes closed as I put out feelers to try and get some idea of where I was. Until I created an actual connection with my Host, I couldn't get more than a slight hint of our surroundings, but I could detect the sharp scent of disinfectant and the faint beep of a heart monitor. Hospital? That was interesting. Now I just had to figure out if they were a patent, a doctor or a visitor. This was gonna be interesting…

Normally when Amy got back home from the hospital, she fell into bed and slept all the way through the night without dreaming. Tonight should have been no different, but instead of six hours of sweet slumber, the young healer found herself being woken by the sound of a deep, reverberating bell that sounded unlike anything she had ever heard before. She opened her eyes and stared as a cloud of mist slowly dissipated from around her, revealing a rotting old dock with what looked like giant fish bones floating in the greenish sky.

"What the...where am I?" said Amy, "Is this a dream?"

"Meow."

She turned around and saw a cat rounding the corner. It was a orange and black striped tabby and for some reason was walking on two legs and was wearing white gloves and booties. Amy swallowed as the obvious Master construct stopped a short distance away and smirked in an unnervingly Human way.

"Hey lady, its about time you got here," said the cat in the most stereotypical gangster voice she'd ever heard, "The boss was getting tired of waiting."

Amy didn't respond, she just turned on her heel and ran. She wasn't sure where she was or how she got here, but she had no interest in meeting whatever Cape it was that managed to bring her here. True, the gangster cat didn't look that threatening, but she'd long learnt to never, ever underestimate a Master.

"Wha...HEY, GET BACK HERE!" shouted the cat, "Oh damn it, grab her boys!"

Amy paled and poured on the speed as a huge number of yowls answered the cats order and a horde of modified kittys came pouring out of the woodwork and surged after her.

Amy ran through the streets, desperately searching for a place to hide or a way out of the strange place she found herself in, but the street were like a maze and the cats kept on her tail, no matter what she tried. She was just reaching the point where she was seriously considering trying to use her power on them when she turned a corner and ran straight into something solid and rebounded, hitting the ground with a thump. She looked up and froze when she saw the person she'd run into.

He was tall, slim and well muscled, visible through his skin tight black and gray suit, although the ragged looking red cloak did serve to cover his form somewhat. His hands and feet were covered in white gloves and boots, similar to the ones the cats were wearing, he had a belt around his hips and his face was covered with a white mask. A pair of pointed ears stuck up through his hood and a long, cat-like tail waved lazily behind him. Going by his appearance and the fact he was the first Human she'd seen, he must have been the Cape behind her being here.

The Cape cocked his head on one side, but before he could say anything, the army of cats came barreling around the corner, only to skid to a stop at the sight of their apparent master.

"Oh, um, hey boss," said the leader, looking a little sheepish, "Um, we bought her."

The Master tilted his head the other way and glanced between Amy and his minions.

"Let me guess," he said, his voice deep and rich, "You just told her to come with you and then chased her without explaining anything?"

"Ummm…"

The Cape sighed and waved a hand. There was a puff of smoke and a large pile of catnip appeared on top of the tabby, resulting in him vanishing under a pile of fur and claws. That done, he turned to Amy and bowed.

"My apologies for the unfriendly welcome," he said, "I probably should have greeted you myself, but I wasn't expecting to find myself with a Cape."

Amy scrambled to her feet and backed away from the taller Cape, keeping a wary eye on him. He hasn't made any aggressive moves, but that could change.

"Who are you?" she asked, "Where am I?"

The Cape straightened and she got the impression that he was smiling under his mask.

"I am the Chaser, John Doe," he said, "And you don't need to worry Amy Dallon, I mean you no harm. I am not a Cape and you are perfectly safe."

"If your not a Cape then how did you get me here?!" demanded Amy, "What did you do to my family?"

John shook his head.

"I did nothing," he said, "Your body is still asleep in your bed. I pulled you here in your dreams because I have something to ask you."

"I don't do requests," said Amy.

John threw back his head and laughed. Despite herself, Amy couldn't stop herself from smiling.

"You don't need to worry, I have no need of your powers," he said, "In truth, I'm not sure if they would even work on me."

Amy frowned. What did he mean by that? Surely he was aware of how her power worked?

"Then what do you want?" she asked cautiously.

"I simply wish to experience the Human World," said John, sitting down in the cat themed throne that appeared out of thin air behind him, "You see, I am not of your world. I am a being from the World of Dreams and, if I wish to interact with the Physical World, I need a host."

Amy scoffed.

"You really expect me to believe that?" she asked, barely keeping herself from sneering, "I don't know how you've done it, but you'll regret kidnapping me!"

John sighed.

"Well, I suppose it was to much to hope that you'd believe me right of the bat," he said, "Well, no matter. I have plenty of time. Speaking of time, it is time for you to awaken. Until next we meet my Lady."

Amy was about to give a scathing retort, but before she could, the sound of a distant bell rippled through the city and an odd mist slowly oozed out of thin air, filling her vision and hiding John from view.

RIIIIINGGGGGGGGG!

Amy blinked blerally as she tried to figure out what the sound was. It took a few seconds for her brian to reboot and she realized it was her alarm clock. She shot up in bed, looking around wildly for any sign of the Cape who had kidnapped her, only to see...nothing. Everything was just how she left it the night before.

"Was that...a dream?" she muttered.

And there we go, done. The original plan was to use an OC Dream Demon and have Taylor serve as the Host. However, I like John way to much not to use him and his army of killer kitties. Plus, I've been reading I, Panacea, so you can blame that for the change in host.

I have a few ideas for how inhabiting a Parahuman will effect a Dream Demon and their host, but suffice to say that John won't just be a kitty on Amys shoulder or a cheat guide for the future.

Incidentally, Jericho is based on my Palico companion from Monster Hunter. He'll come with his own set of armour and weapon in the future, as will the rest of the Little Chasers, mainly because palico are adorable.

Anyway, heres where I sign out. Don't forget to leave a review!