Act 1: The Arrival

Prologue

The Solar looked down at the planet and only saw gray. To even the most advanced of technologies, she was formless, just wisps of energy out in the deep void of space, though in this spread out form she found herself able to look at the life laden planet and ponder what to call the smallest mass at the edge of their solar system.

It was a sad and disappointing thing, the parasite had come and taken this planet, like it had so many others. Directly fighting the parasite would be catastrophic for the planet and the solar system as a whole. They couldn't risk eradicating the life on this world.

The Parasite had one goal in mind, dominion over life and the way it did so was to subconsciously create in the minds of beings on planets a desire to cast away culture in a blind attempt to gain some form of strength. The Parasite created a culture of strength, by taking away freedom and outward thinking.

It boded ill for Humanity as it collectively called itself. Many in the past had fallen down this path without The Parasite's influence.

The Solar's only solution was to pull from the imagination. Other universes existed and in these universes, things that correlated with imagination were possible, if it has been imagined there exists a universe where it is truth.

Antibodies. The Solar mused, thinking of a more carbon based metaphor. Her wait was over, she felt as two other Solar entered the solar system, instead of them taking up different spaces, they overlapped with one another.

Doing something on this level prerequired more strength than the first Solar, The Teacher had alone, so she had to call upon others of her race. Sending out a pulse across the universe to draw them in. The Guardian arrived next, followed by The Observer.

The Teacher spoke, not in words, but in impressions and electromagnetic signals. There were no words spoken, only concepts.

̼̝̣̟͖̫̱͇̖︎̳̠̫͉̙̦☜̩͟ ̯̤◘̢̫̜͍̘͇͔̹︎͔̘❒︎̮̱̜̻͎͖͉̯̘̪︎͕̰̟⬧͚̦̥͍͙︎̤͉̗͇̤̰̤͕̭︎̸̹⧫̢̞̖︎̜̟͓̻͠☜̠̞̙͈͕͙͔ ͓̥̜̞̤̰̖�̥̼̰̰͝�̻̞̮̤͢□̜̗︎̬͕͓̯̲ͅͅ■͔︎͓̹͖̞̯̼̤⧫̺̼̤͘︎̶͓̝͖̖͚͓̼̺︎̼͈ͅ■︎̖͠◆҉̰͖̫̬̖̮︎̫̱̞̜͞︎̲͔̠͎̯͚ͅ�̛͉̰̦̦̺̭�̤̫͔ ̛̤̪͚̖̳͚⚐̖͝ ̸̜☞̵̖̺̥̤̰̱̞͖̫︎̴̙̩⬧̱̝︎̛̯⧫̭̻︎̹͔͎͕̫͇̟͜︎̥̜̖͍̝̭☼̰ͅ ̸͉̘☟̢͖͓̰̭̙͍͠ͅ︎̝̟̳͔̞͍❒̡̟̲͍̘︎̭̖͉͎̹͕̱☜̭̠̜̩̙�̨͕̙̻�̖̦̤̯︎͕̲̮̬͔̰
̞̼͙̝̥̱̣ ̤͜
͓̹̩̗̜̮͇☞̪̳͇͖ ̥̠̻͕̦͇̱ͅ☜̻̥̝̲̘̯ ̞̺�͕͓͇͙�̫̖̭̱□̣͕̺̼͖͡︎͇̮̥̹■͉͔̀︎̻̯͠�̵̯̖̞͔�̖͟︎̞̫̰̪͓ ̫̰̝̭͇̞̭̟̘̕︎̗̼͈̬̦̣ͅ ̮̺̰̬̦͈͈□̸︎̺̯̟̟͟⬥̗̺͍̻̲︎͜�͏͔͖͉̫�͟︎̵ ̛̰͖̦͉͙̬͇̱̙͎̘͠ͅ︎̯ͅ︎̵̺�̱̭�̠̻͔͎ͅ ̼̝͉̲̫͕̞�́�҉̼̯̖̹͎̣̜͞︎̣̙̻͙͔ͅ❖̝̼̬̕ͅ︎̭̤̳̜͕̱︎͏͙̤͖●͓̣︎͎͇͈̤̗̺̯͜ͅ︎͎̝̗̝̬⌘̣̱͈͓͙̫̩︎͉͚̤͝︎̞́⧫︎̵̠̙̜̬̪̬̗͉͚̰︎̠̻̞̳͉ͅ□̠͍︎̛̭̰̩ ̶̞͖̲̕︎̪̜͎̣̬̞●̤̱͟︎͙͈͈͓̥̪ͅͅ ̀�̷̟̱̮̬͕�̳̦̙͎͙̮̼̙̼͓︎̣⬧︎̫̼͙̗̩̞҉̝͎̙̰︎̗̝͎͇̩□̗̟͍︎͔͇❖͏̯̻̹̭︎͕̘̠̞̦̥̰̩̺͜ͅ︎̨͖̣̠̖̦̭̤☼͙ ̴͇̳͇ͅ■̯︎̶̪̱̤⧫̝̫̲̘̩͍︎̛͇̝͈̫̭̦͇͉̩͝ͅ︎̵͓̼̹̙̹̤̼❒̝̹̪͠︎̝̫͟⬧̜̳̥͚︎̤̲̼ͅ⧫︎͕̘ͅ︎̰̞̰̺̩̲●̠͖͉̖︎●̤̝̲̟̟͍̹̀︎̤͎︎̼☼͈̟̖ ͎̙̱̥̜͖̪̞❒̧̗͇̺̯̻̮̻︎̢̗̱͇̻̪̼̙̜̝̟͎︎❖̥̦̰͍̺︎̮̤͍̼͝͞︎͔̹͇̠̠̲̞̼͢ ̤͚͍̮͈͙̥͙̺ͅ■͇͓͚︎̯̝̳̞̹�̵̩͍̘̗̥̦̰� ̗̭̯̝͕͝�̛�͏̰̝͎̪̗̰̦̹̰̗︎̮͚̞̲̰̳͝❒̖̭̣̪͕͍̞̕︎̰̟̬̘̟̼̺̭͔̠︎͍͖̺̻̜͇̼͇̪︎̜̰̗͖̙͖̹�͍͉̻͓̭͚�̱̠̥ͅ ̢̟̩̺̬͓͕̀⧫̴̻͓︎͉̭̘�͈̦ͅ�͈͔͕͖︎̪̰͡ͅ�̛͚͎̳͎̪� ̼͚͢�̱̙̼͉̯�̨̘̹͔͉̻͘ͅ︎̖̤̤̞̪̲͚⬧̱̣͇͙︎̬̹̟̻̙̼̕ͅ︎̨̡̟̯̦̘͕͕̝̭︎̺̟͇͚⬧̲̙͍̰̳̰̘︎̵͍☜̺̝̻̳͔ ̛͙͎̬̻̪͉̭͍̩̼︎̤❒̸̠̱︎͍̲̣̗́□͈̜͚̜̥͞︎̜̲͔̱͠⬧̯̪̪͘︎͖͝�̻̜̹͕͔͙� ͉͇̪̳͇̬̞̗̰̺͉͍͔̤̞͠︎̯̫̪̙̱̥☜̠̰̰ ̘͓͉̼̥͎̼̰̦̀⧫͕̝̪̗︎͏̘̻͓̤̝̙͇͎̖̣͙̯̜͘ͅ︎͏̝❒͕͉͇̙̗͕͉︎̵̻̩̥͔�̧̥̰͓͈͎�͠�̯͓͕͖̮�̤̙︎̢̫̱͈


The Guardian spoke next.

̰̦̥͕͜ ̤̝̦̫̱̜͙̜̼͎̘̕͟︎̷͕͙̙̳̝̰͔︎͈͎̪̞̺̭͝︎̛̞̙͚̮̱̹͍̥̜̻̠͞︎̦͕̩͙ ̴̡͍̬̙̮̣̩︎̲☜̺͕̣͚ ̧̦͈̻�̷͚̝̻̼̠̺�̧̖̳̭̺̯͍̟̭̳̤͘︎̼̱̹̠̬̪̦⬧̫︎̭͉̞̻̭̠̫︎̵͍︎̳̣̬■̻̗͔︎͇̜͓̹︎̫̮̭͙͈̱⧫͏̩͔︎̸̹͔͕̫̺̠͢︎̻͓̯̣□̛͚︎̡̩̬͓̞̮͓̖͓̖ ̤̗͕͏̫͇͈͉�̼̯̰͈͉�̦̮͇͜ ̙̪͍͉̼̳̭◆̪̠̠̠︎̨̟̲̖̣̗̜͕͎̕︎̛͕̻̝❒̧͔︎̢͕̜︎̛̹̮̜͎͚̜̻͎̼︎̲̮̝͙̦̼̥̝︎̺̫̠̪̙͔̝͔̞̭ ̮̱̻̤͟⚐͔͚̫☞͉̠͇ ̵̠̱͔͔̖̟͓̜̟ͅ︎̶͚͇̱̥̰͓͚̺̞̘̙̟̮͝ͅ︎̮͍̙̞̜̼�̰�̠ ͈͖☼̞̖̬͓͕͇̯͇ͅ︎̙̹̘̖̭̭̱͟︎̜̣͙̘̘̘͜�̻̫̖�͍̩̺̮̱̫︎̴͓͈͖̪͕̗̝ ͚
̺̙̖̳̫͚ ͔͕̳
̟͖͖͉͎̪͡ ̷̼͈̭͈̰̻͍�̰̲̜�̞͇̫͉͎̼͓̭ͅ︎̶̳̭̳̘̰̖̥̹︎͓̺̼●̤͇͘︎̜͖ ̙͍̯̲̜̳̲̻̗̦̩̲͇︎͖͕̞̞̫͕̳̣̮̘̱̘͟͢︎̥̪̟͠■̜︎͈̤̤̜⧫̮̺̙̖̩︎̤̦̩︎̸͙͉̭͓̜̯͢︎̡̻̻͕̥͓͕̲̰ ̮̹̩̭͈̘̦́ͅ⧫͕̹̯̫̙͉͜︎̜̹̫̬͓͍͈�͏̝͕̠̙̮̣̹�̻͔̰̯̗︎͎͞�̟͇̙�̗͎͇̹̩̮ ̡̩͈̫̟ͅ■̝̯︎̞͎͈̭⧫͜︎̳̞̣̬͠ͅ︎̘̺̣̬̪̤̼︎̤̝̙̭̼❒̻͈̞̥͢︎̪͡҉̥︎̱̠̭̹̟͓̦͝⧫̞︎̧̛̗̲̠̖͇̮̫ ̡̢͈͍̺̦■̴̰͎̜͉͚̼︎̧̟̟͓͚̲͕̘�̱̮̺̻̲̥͈͘�̺͇̼ ͕̥͎̥̫̗̬̤͙̳͕̮̼︎͎̱̮̺̕☜̩̰̥̬͎̮̕ ͚͉̀■҉͉̜̝̹︎͈̮̖̯̠̩⧫̢̰̼̩͇̜̖̺︎̨͙̟̮̣͉̠̀ͅ︎̢͇͎̦̻̮̼̠̞̖̝͟︎̞̙❒͕̰̝͓̜͎͞︎̶͇̯̤̝͓͓̳͉̙͈︎͓͖͖͈͉⧫̭̙̘͖̟︎̡͕͎̕ ̱̮̺͎ͅ⚐̼̹͎̖̙☞ ̸̘̞̖͚͙̘̦͕͔︎̭̯̞̮̳̼̭͜☜̨̺̥̺͍̞̮ͅ �̺̭̹̣͜�̷̖̥̤̮̲̭̬͎͙̜̳̬ͅ︎͖͔͍͖̗̟̹͎︎̡͕̣̻̯̩̘͏͙̖͔̦͇̮͍︎̟͈̲̼̤̝͔☜̼̩̳̳͖̥͚ ̶̬͎͇̥̺̪̝́︎̜̗͎❍̲̣͓͉︎̨☜̹̰̹ ̣̙̩̘̤͚͙̼̲̝͡❒︎̸͔̳̻□̢̬̱̯̭͓̤̫︎̟͉̖̩◆̷̬̹̪͖︎̬̘̗̼͕̫̤■҉̹͖︎̟�̷̙͔̙̖̬�͏͎ ͍̖̦̹̝͙́́�̪͚̘̱͉̯̮�̭̺͖͓̯︎̞̱͖̻̙̫͕ ̡͙͙̺̰


The Observer spoke last.

̷̸̯̻͈̗̠̹͔͖̫̤ ͍̠̩̥̬̹̹̹͎̖̘͙͈͡�̷̷̵̸̫̠̦̞̙͖̬̹̜̳͕͖̳̩̠͎͟�̴̧̕͏̴̛̲͉̹̲͓͚͕͉̱͇̤̘̳͍̲̲̭̖͈̟̜̗̝̤̯̻̭̪̖̀͘̕︎҉̵̴̸̡̢̛̙̮͍̫͎̟̤̲̭̫̲̪͉̝͉̼̙́͢︎̷̮̫̙̻̼̞̀́●̸̨̡̢̬̖͕̭̫̪̘͈̻͍̝́ͅ︎̵̷̡̢̤̼̗͓̻̳̱̟̫̺͔͖͖̣̬̕͝ ̴̴̛̮̞̙̺̩̭̦̞̜̬̠̀͜⚐̴̢̧̧̛̛͙̹̜̼͕̟͕͚̫͉̻͍̤̘̜͉͔̻̘̦̞̳͙̟̹͍̟̙̼͓̺́͟͝͝ͅ︎̡̧̱̬̰̻̩̤̦̱͘ͅ⬧̢̛̟̺͈̜̜͜͠͞︎̧̡̨̞̺̦̜̫͎̟̦̬̰͍͓̦͉́́͘̕͜͝͝︎̴̞̫͓̹͕̳͉͜͝❒̨̧̣̳͔̯̙͟︎̢̡͉͎̮ͅ❖̛̜̦͕̰͎̠͠︎̧҉̵͍̫͉͔͙͍͉̯͡ͅ☜̡̛̮̩͙͓͕̝̟̞̤̼͚͕̺̘͈̘̖̦͘͞͝ ̷̢̡̢̡̛̩̗͖̮̦͕̬̼̺̲̻̞̜̮͔̲̯̣̠̣͎͙̪̺̦̯͍̱̭̩̘̱̲̫̮̖̖͓́́͜͟͝ͅͅ︎̶̶͜͏͓̥̘͍̗̭̬̮̥ͅ☜̨̢̡̬̱͎̟̗͖̟ ̢̡҉͖̬͓̤͓͚͚̬͇͎͕́◘̸͓̮̩̜͎̫͚̹̲̟̀͠❒̷̡̡̰̯̹͕̮̲̹̗̳̦͈͜︎͞͏̰̣̖̩͉̟̣͚̲̯̞͓̤͔̭͚ͅͅ□͢҉̴̪̣̜̦͎̥͉̘̖̦̭̮̼̲̦̙̹͢︎̸̡͖̮͚̻̲͕̟̙̖̝̫̹̲͓̞̥͖̫̙͈̺̗̣̖͔̟̩̟̙̖͢͡͝͞ͅ︎҉͖̻͇̯̣́́❒̨̬͉̳̜͇̭̮̹͕̀︎̷͝͞҉̱̱̯̳͈͈̩͓̭̳̖̕͟͜͡︎̲̱͓͔̟͚̰͕̥̯͚̥̺̫͕̙̳̀͟⬧̶̟͇͇̤̬̫͙̳̘̦͓͘ͅ︎̠̜̹̹̬̟͙̠̘͎̣͕̕͢͜͟͠�̵̶̲̠̤̤͉̠̬̮͚̖͈̻͜͡�͘҉͏̥̮̳̠̞̺̰́̀�҉̸̨̖͎͖͍̘͉͇̹̻͠�̀͜͏͏͖̬̟̼͎̝͍͓̤̗̹̪͉̺͈ͅ︎̶̧͎̞̙̺̯̣̼̥̹̻̲͍͓͎̕ ͏̥͔̩̲̲͉͉̜̪̹̬̞͚̱̘͡
̶̝̻̝͇̯̝͜͡ ̵̛̩̲̘̯͈͚̗̤̩̙̼͚̙̯ͅ
̛̛͔͉̙̲̜͇̯̤̼̗̮͖̤͟͢͟͟͏̸̮͉̖̱͙̩̭̼̜̀͟︎̵̶̴͍̼̱̞̳͖́□̨̢̢̠̭̗͔̩͓̼͓͟͞︎̢̢͖̜̳͈͇̩̤̤̻͢͞͠◆̵̢̧̩̘̫̖̪̘̖͓̣̳̩̲̦̻͔͖̪̠͢͜ͅ︎̼̥̳̞̠̘̬̘̤͞͝ͅͅ͏̛̳̘̭̰̹͓͉̱͕̜͈̫͓̺̟͘︎͏̸̧̞̗̟̦̦̠̮̳̩͖̣̲̼̱̹̩̀☟̵̧́͞҉͔̝̗̪͓͈̙̘͔̭ ̶̵̡̠̯̘͓̦̹̼̳͍̰͔͚̺̭̞̤̱̞̲̰̯̜͚̪̫̀͘͡ ̢̨̮̫̳͔͈͔͉̥̘͖̤͍͇̱͞�̧̕͟͏҉̩̭̳̭͕̼͔�̷̷̧̢̡̛̜̰̘̦͙̞̟̳̼͙̣̥͖̯̝̭̳͙̻͈͍̤͇͙̬̻͓̥̖̠͇̼̹︎̴̶̡̧͖͇͈͔͓̩͖̖̬͔̩̦̠̗̪̭͚̹̮̱̜̰̥͢͠ͅ︎̨̮͓͉̞͕̺̣̰̹̬͈͘͞ͅ●͏̸̀҉̞̘̯̼̙͈͔̖̞̰︎̨̧̛̩̠̱̝̫͓̱͍̫͙̮͇̗̞̦̜͖̦̘̝̗̖͔̤̭͚͈̥͟͞͡ͅ ͔̙̗̯̻̹̣̫̰͖̟͕̜͇̜́͘͢͢͠□̶͉͓̼͇̫͙̟̣̖̹̮̲̗͞͝︎̧̢̭͉͉͇͖͇̠̩̩̳͍̜̪̠̜͇̲̤̱͎̣̙̖͇̮̦̖̙̮͈̖̗͠ ̵̷̨̯̟̦̟̹̰̫̳̞̖̰̳̰̹͖̥̜̲̀͘͟͢͞■͔͈͕̖̫͖̤̱̰̱͇̪͙̙̀︎̵̡̀͠҉̘̲̰̥̜̝̲͙̼̦̯̖̦̖̰͙⧫̶̱̯̞̭̼̬͟͜͢͠︎̶̷̨̧̩̠̻̝̖̩͉̹͔̤͓͚̩͎̥̤͓̬̘̠͚̫̜̖̲̣̱͢ͅ︎̸̨̘̰̝̠͕͔̖̼̖̠͇̱̜̞͈̜̞̗́❒̴҉̢̩͈̙͈͕͔̯̩͍͚̀͢ͅ︎҉̛̕͏̢̲̭͔̩̘̙̥͙͈̗̪̜̫̪́͠͝︎̴̧̢͉̤͎̦̰̻̱͈̥̫͓͢͠͞͡︎̵̸̵̲͍̲̮̹͍͖̖̗̗̭̲̻̦̠̜̠̝̣͙̲̲̱͇̤͖̠̦̺̕͞͝ͅ�̴̛̼̖̹̙̗͇̤͕̞̳̰̹̥̺̘̩̟̺̕͘̕�͏̶̨͔̳̤̟̪̺̥͖̻͍͖̣̗̖̫͉̹̹ͅ︎̲̯̠̩̯͚̬̟̜̝̺̦̗̪̹̼̗̀͝ͅ ̛̹̩̘͙͚̠̦̜̗͚̺̤̕͠͠ͅ
҉̨̬̭͖͙͎͉̰̫͙̩̠̳̫̲̗̩̥͜ ̸̶̡̦̞̩͖̫
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Agreement and designation from both. The Teacher accepted her designation as the instigator of this ritual to warp time and space.

The three of them pulsed at different intervals, now condensing onto the area around Earth. The three together created the energy needed to create the rifts, the Teacher looked into the space beyond space and time and began choosing.

The Parasite responded immediately, and it too opened it's own rift, sifting through it to find what needed to retort. The Teacher expected this, but the Parasite did not help it's tools, she was confident with her's and the Guardian's assistance, their champions would persevere over it.

She knew at first there would be a delayed reaction for each, especially with two different rift sources opening up at once, they repulsed one another. It was unfortunate but many who were not selected by either would end up in this world before either of their chosen did.

She hoped that the Observer would notify her and the Guardian of these individuals. Perhaps they could find ways to return them back to their realities once the Parasite had let loose it's grip on this planet.

The first potential passed right over her senses, like a fly buzzing over a nose.

It was a small thing but with greater space on the inside. She had seen this one's race before, and observed as many instances of this creature as she could. It was a drifter, a lone figure drifting through the sea of the cosmos on a ship that was supposed to be piloted by many, leaving the ships courses sloppy. She observed as it fumbled it's way through space time, and with the slightest hint of her power, nudged it, in the desired direction.

It would take a bit of a stall for the cast away to drift into this world, but she had confidence that she had chosen wisely.

With that, she started to look towards other prospective champions.

It was over.

This was the end of the line, but as far as things went, this wasn't the worst.

He walked into the decimated space station with the Queen of the Moon, glancing around at what would be his tomb. The wires strewn about from the when the Martians under Abzu's directive attacked...his directive now.

He felt every single Martian as an extension of his own consciousness and soul, he could manipulate them down to their very biology and magical prowess. He could warp reality around them, for all life on Mars was nothing more than his body.

It wasn't right though.

65 million years ago, when the Ancient Ones war with whatever they were fighting was at it's height, the Martians were a people. They were just as sapient as anyone on Earth, with their own culture, society, everything. But by awakening Abzu, they had lost all of that, becoming nothing more than puppets.

The agreement that they had come to was that when they implemented their plan, they would both go into the Dream of the Gods afterwards, forever cutting off the consciousness of Tiamat and Abzu with their children, giving them the power of free will again.

Bandar hadn't known at the time, but while Carah would go into the Dream of the Gods on Earth's moon, that was not his fate. Abzu was the father god of Mars, and therefore, Deimos was where he would sleep forever.

It was bitter, and in these final moments, he ironically understood Abzu better. Despite the danger he was to all life on Earth, no, the universe, in the end all he wanted was Tiamat back.

He wished very much that he could've gone with her into that dream of the gods, one final adventure with the woman he loved.

The Queen of the Moon and him descended downwards now, going down a hole in the floor, into a sea of cables and wiring. He knew that the Queen of the Moon didn't need the help but he still offered his hand.

At long last, they reached it, the epicenter of all of the wires and cables. A slab made out of the rock of Deimos.

Tears flowed from his eyes, he quickly turned his face away to rub his eyes.

"You need not hide your sorrow," the Queen of the Moon stated. "You've hidden all of it for so very long, I will not judge."

Bandar's shoulders slumped, as he dropped all of his guards, his barriers, his facades. As he let himself for the first time in a long time just be Brendan Demeter.

"Is it painful?" Brendan asked. "It's...embarrassing I know, I knew what I was getting myself into, but I'm still scared."

The Queen of the Moon shook her head.

"No, it won't be painful," she said. "It will be like falling asleep, going into a deep slumber. The occasional passage of dreams will be your new reality. Usually, in the old dream of the gods, you would be connected to the dreams of other gods...but you are no Earth god, Father God of Mars, and there are no Martian Gods as of right now, even if they were, they would only flee to this dream if they wished not to be affected by the Faith Change, and willing to wipe their existence away in eternal slumber." She looked Brendan in the eyes. "It will be lonely."

Brendan nodded as he took his steps forward. The hand that held his staff trembled.

"Lay down your staff, father of fresh water," The Queen of the Moon commanded. He did so, the staff fell to the ground with a noise as he laid himself down on the slab.

He moved around awkwardly on the slab until he simply looked up at the cables and wiring in the ceiling. The Queen of the Moon's beautiful visage appeared in his vision. She was the manifestation of all gods of the afterlife that slept in Earth's dream of the gods, and as he started to feel drowsiness kick in, he saw the slightest hint of Carah in her.

"Goodnight," he said, with a smile, as he closed his eyes and was no more.

Water dropped into the river, and Brendan woke slowly, as though from a long rest, groggy. He glanced around himself, then saw his staff at his feet. He felt through his hair for his horns and found they were not there. Was this one of his dreams?

He slowly got up from his slumped position on the railing and looked where the roar of water was coming from. It looked like a river, or a source of freshwater that was directly feeding into the ocean. Artificial, with raised platforms on either side to watch the water flow out.

Brendan glanced around his side of the platform until he saw a lone slumped figure, red hair spilling out and over her face. His heart was in his throat as he walked over there.

"Carah?" he asked weakly. There was a long stirring before she opened her green eyes and he knew it was her. He hugged her immediately.

"Brendan?" Carah asked weakly. "Where...how are you here?"

Brendan stopped, and sighed.

"This is my dream...I don't know if this is real or not," Brendan said. "You...might not be real." It scared him to say it out loud, as though the illusion would be dispelled immediately and he would be alone again.

"I...don't think that's how the Dream of the Gods works," Carah stated. "I've never had dreams of you in there...and the other gods should be about...if this was my dream..." Carah glanced up with surprise. "Brendan...where are your horns?"

"Yours are gone too," Brendan noted, as she felt through her hair for her horns.

"This isn't the Dream of the Gods," Carah stated, getting up, picking up her own staff. "This is something different. It's following none of the rules."

"You've...been dreaming this whole time?" Brendan asked. "I...went to sleep and it's just been one long sleep, I have no idea how much time has passed."

"Neither do I, really," Carah said. "Time in the Dream of the Gods doesn't exist as far as I can tell. The Past, The Present, and the Future are all one in there. And we would still be gods, even in our dreams...but this feels like my mortal body."

Brendan finally decided to turn away from the Ocean and look at the city. It was unrecognizable, large monolith sky scrapers, some decrepit or some with a new black sheen to them.

It was like no city Brendan remembered back on Earth, even in 2030.

"Well," Bandar said, "this is new."

"Alright old girl, what's got you so upset now!?" The Doctor asked to himself loudly as he desperately held on for dear life to the TARDIS' controls as the TARDIS bucked and shaked violently, sparks flying from the console as parts of the TARDIS exploded around him. He had been on his way to respond to a mysterious signal that had beamed out across the galaxy, when he was suddenly knocked off course by something even more mysterious. Not to mention something that deeply, deeply had upset his TARDIS. The last time he had seen the TARDIS respond like this was with the other universe's Cybermen.... The time lord wondered to himself if maybe the saving of Gallifrey him and his other counterparts had recently done had perhaps weakened the barriers between parallel realms but this seemed to be beyond even that. The cloister bell seemed to be almost screaming and he knew from experience that never meant anything good. As he dodged out of the way of another spark, he could see from the corner of his eye the inner mechanism of the TARDIS explode as the already dim console room turned to black.

It was then that he felt a crashing landing, making him finally lose his grip as he fell on the steel floor of the TARDIS. Picking himself up carefully, The Doctor gently stroked the TARDIS' console before sighing. He hoped she was alright but for now he had to see where he was. As he made his way to the doors he opened them and right before him were two beings. Possibly human?

"Hello there, I'm The Doctor and ignore this big police box I'm in. You wouldn't happen to know what planet this is I imagine?"

Bandar held Carah close as they stood up looking around. Signs were in English, cool, that didn't narrow it down at all.

"We need to figure out where we are-" Bandar was interrupted by a loud whirring noise. The two wizards glanced over to the source of the noise, as a blue police box faded in and out of existence. He blinked, turned around and looked again. Carah was doing similar motions. "Carah, honey, are you *sure* this isn't a dream?"

"I'm...not entirely sure myself right now either," Carah answered. "But I am me...and our dreams aren't connected as far as I can tell."

If this was a dream it was getting overly convoluted really quick with the level of self awareness it had. He swallowed as he watched a familiar figure exit the police box.

Contrary to the Doctor's request, Bandar and Carah moved their heads out of the way of the Doctor to glance at the TARDIS.

"I...hope it's Earth," Carah said, glancing around. "If not we're more screwed than I thought before."

Bandar tilted his head at the Doctor, clear recognition on his face. He was too stunned, whether he should indulge what could be a dream or if someone was playing an elaborate prank on the Mother Goddess Tiamat and Father God Abzu.

If the later, they had balls of adamantium.

"You lost too?" Bandar asked.

"You could certainly...say that." The Doctor said as he stepped out of the TARDIS and looked around, shutting the door behind him. It certainly did look like Earth to a degree but it felt...different. The oppressive atmosphere felt similar to other times in Earth's history but the look of it wasn't Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia, or Trump Dynasty America.

"...Wait you said lost too." The Time Lord said suddenly, realizing what it was that the man before him had said.

"What do you mean by that?"

Bandar and Carah glanced at each other. They both already looked out of place what with their clothing and their wizard staves.

Keep it minimum.

"We just woke here," Carah said, "and none of this is recognizable to either of us."

"What year is it?" Bandar asked, glancing around, looking for newspapers. There weren't any around.

"That is a good question....of which I don't have the answer to unfortunately." The Doctor said with a sigh. If there were others involved here, and they certainly weren't the cosplayers he was thinking they could've been, then this was certainly going to be getting bigger. These things tended to in his experience.

"Though before we continue I'd like to know everyone's names so feel free to share."

”Hi I’m Abzu, and this is my lover, Tiamat. Nice to meet you.”

Which was his justification for going for a different kind of theatrics.

“Hello, I’m Bandar the Enchantar,” he started. Carah half sighed but didn’t groan for once.

“I’m Carah.”

Warmth.

In an odd way for Cao that was his favorite way to describe being at home. Ever since Capheris and her siblings had been born the entire family slept together in a protective bundle. Tepheris on one side and himself on the other forming a protective circle. The first inclination something was wrong was that the feeling of warmth of gone.

Cao's eyes snapped opened as he heard a roar in the sky. There are a strange shape moving through the air that howled in the distance. For a moment he wondered if it was an airship but it was too small and fast oddly shaped like a wyvern with rigid wings. Then came other noises, the artificial noise of machines moving through a street and great buildings in the distance. It was like the shining capital of Polaris but there was something off about this city. This was not a place of magic but something different, colder.

That's when Cao's mind began racing. Just moments ago he had been sleeping with his family peacefully in their home. Now he was in a new place and he could not tell what had happened.

"Tepheris?" He said quietly as if hoping for a response. "Little ones? Anyone here?"

He tried not to let any terrible thoughts dwell in his mind. But he hoped that someone, anyone would answer him.

"....You named yourself after the Jungle Book?" The Doctor said incredulously. Either that or he had just accidentally offended a very powerful magician. It certainly would not be his first time.
* * *

"Cao?" Tepheris said in response as she shook herself awake, turning to look at her husband. They had just been in the cave with their kids when suddenly...they weren't. Tepheris sighed to herself to keep herself grounded. If she panicked they wouldn't be able to figure this out and that certainly was the most important thing at the moment.

"...How did we end up in Polaris?" She asked looking at the massive buildings and strange machines around them. It resembled Polaris yet it was...different as well. More advanced then what she was used to, even with all the weirdness her and Cao had experienced. Was this maybe a lost Elf civilization?

Bandar blinked in utter surprise. Of course The Doctor would get it.

“Yeah...actually,” he said, stunned. “And you’re the Doctor. Galifrey, TARDIS, Master, Daleks, all that Jazz.”

Bandar wanted to test his reaction. It might’ve seemed foolish to put some of his cards on the table, but at this point, the way forward required a bit of trust on both sides. As such Carah didn’t object.

"Tepheris," Cao said. "Thank Epheris."

Taking a moment to hug his wife, grateful she was there. Cao held her a moment before quietly letting go as he realize their children were not there with them. He hoped they were back home in Draconia, Capheris would know where to take her siblings if they needed help. That much could reassure him at least for now.

"I don't think this is Polaris love," He said. "There's something... Off about this place. Doesn't seem like magic country just the opposite... Remind me of Velka."

The Doctor's eyes widened in surprise. For a seeming human albeit a magical one to know that much about him was unusual but....

"Wait you said your name was Bandar?" The Time Lord replied, his mind racing as he started to connect the dots.

"And you're Carah?" He continued as the names began to ring in his head.

"Magic users, you know about me...I know about you....wait a second..." The Doctor said as a look of realization came over him.

"AH HA YOU'RE THE MAIN CHARACTERS OF THE CARTOGRAPHER'S DRAGON!"
* * *

"It doesn't." Tepheris said as she gently sniffed the air before a grimace came over her. It smelt awful, worse then anything she had ever smelt before. The only smell close to this was how Velka used to smell under Macragge. That same oppressive odor but intensified by about one hundred.

"It smells different and it feels...different. Feels like how Velka used to feel."

And like that the tables were turned.

There was a long minute of silence, neither Bandar nor Carah dared even speak, stunned at this revelation. Carah felt somewhat stupid, realizing that if a fictional being like the Doctor could exist in front of them right now, perhaps the same could be true of themselves.

"Uh," Carah started. She couldn't find the right words.

"At least we got a cool title," Bandar tried offering.

"We can focus on the existential crisis later," Carah said, shaking her head. "Let's focus on figuring out why we're here and what's going on."

Bandar hadn't even moved a foot when he heard the chipping whirls of a chopper.

He turned to look and saw a massive heavily armored aircraft move and land in the middle of the street. Immediately soldiers in black armor started pouring out. Each of them had a metallic star on their shoulder as they aimed advanced rifles at them with red laser sights.

***

An armored van skitted to a stop near Cao and Tepheris. On it was a single metal star, which broke in two as the doors opened and black troopers poured out, aiming their rifles at the two draconic outsiders.

They went stiff as they heard footsteps followed by loud reverberated breathing. A set of the troopers parted ways as a lone figure in black walked towards them. His cape flapped with the breezy wind that came out of alleyways that he passed. His mask was black, the lids of his Mask's eye pieces were indistinguishable from the rest of the mask. He stepped forward and silently assessed the two.

"You two will come with me, immediately," the voice echoed and distorted, barely human. It wasn't phrased as a question. Or even a demand.

It was a statement.

Cao wheeled as the van pulled up. He had never seen such clothing before but he recognized the familiar hurried movement of a warrior anywhere. And judging by the how they held their weapons they appeared to be some kind of gun or cannon but they were strange dark in color and lacked any sign of wood just oddly shaped metal.

But worse of all was the armored giant standing before him. Everything about him was unnatural, his scent reeked of death and machinery. There was a faint sent of dying flesh and unfamiliar cold chills and his mere presence was like a shadow that was engulfing what little light was around him. There was a darkness to this man like a mage who basked in evil spells. Instinctively he moved in front of Tepheris, though she could easily fend for herself it was his natural urge. He wished he had his spear with him though he doubted it would do much good as he looked around the alley.

"I don't know what country you're from," Cao said. "But in my home its considered rude to collect guests with weapons. We've done you no harm, leave us in peace."

"Ah hello there!" The Doctor yelled excitedly at the men in front of him and his new found....allies? Companions? Friends? Ah well he'd figure out what to call them later.

"I take it someone's sent you yes?" He continued as he slowly reached into one of his pockets, he had to be careful to not be too obvious about it so for now he had to continue to play the clown.

"I'd like to know why and how you all even knew about us so quickly, since me and my...friends...here have just arrived. So tell me what's the purpose of this?"
***

At the sight of the armored knight, Tepheris growled. He smelt of metal and death, and beyond that he smelt bunt. Burnt like how those who had died to her kind's fire smelt. Yet he was still alive. Something about him reminded her of Macragge. That same feeling of emptiness coupled with hate moving what was basically a dead corpse along.

"Cao...be careful." She said quietly, preparing herself to quickly change into her dragon form.

"Hands, where I can see them, if you please," said a voice, an unarmored soldier, in a more decorative grey uniform, the biggest badge was the metal star. "I am Colonel Trevors, and you, Outsider are currently on the soil of the Great American Kingdom. By act of our Supreme President, you are to be detained and sent to Iron Star Academy to process you into our great society."

"Alright, there is not a single word in there that didn't reek of bootlicker," Bandar said, waving a finger at Colonel Trevors. As he did, the soldiers stiffened and pointed at him, who raised his hand. He *hated* guns, with a firey passion. He'd gotten used to the sights of a gun being trained on him, but it still always made his hair stand on edge.

"How do you know we're outsiders? We could be normal citizens," Carah stated. Colonel Trevors gave a smug smirk.

"We've already run all of your faces through facial recognition software, none of you resemble anyone alive," the Colonel said. "Don't try and trick us, we've gotten good at catching your inter dimensional kind."

***

"You are in no country where those rules apply," Darth Vader retorted. The coldness intensified as he watched the man stand in front of the woman, her concern. Love. He shoved the envy down to be eaten by the cold. Bit by bit. Make him stronger and stronger. Every bit of pain, agony, everything culminating together into a twirling vortex of the force around him. He sensed them preparing to attack, to reveal something far greater. "Do not try and fight or resist, you will be shot down before you can even make the first move.

"You are to be taken to Iron Star Academy, it's the current holding place for...Outsiders like you that have appeared in this world."

"Holding place?" Cao said. "I can sense you're a man of great power. But be reasonable, my wife and I are not the kind of people you want to start a fight with. Especially in a city."

He retreated slightly nudging Tepheris back. He quietly tapped her and pointed toward a twist in the alleyway behind them. The soldiers kept their weapon peered as the dark knight loomed, Cao had seen this type before from his darkness and demeanor. A man of reeked of death was beyond reasoning.

"Just back off or get ready to run. I won't give you a second chance so just move already!"

Though he was shouting at the armored men he gently looked toward Tepheris. There was too many of them to fight and their leader was too dangerous. He was willing to try and hold them off to give Tepheris a chance to get away.

"We have children, we have to make sure they're safe!"

They  couldn't risk both being hurt...

***

Her eye snapped open and looked upon a sky full of red.

As she raised herself up she found she was standing amidst a sea of blood that flowed down from a bleeding moon.  

"The dream..."

She was within the dream. The dream that all vampires shared when she who thirst calls out to them.

But why now? The dream only came when a vampire neared death. Or when the Red Moon was present they would have told her-

the blood sea shifted. She was coming, she closed her eyes and silently muttered a prayer.

A mantra echoed through her mind.

"She is not god, she is not god. Reject her... Reject her..."

The sea parted and a shape began to rise from the  blood. First a back, then a chest and arms, then came a neck and a great head. White hair  appeared draping down like an elegant gown covering the naked body as the head raised up.

The shape began moving forward crawling through the blood like a hunting beast. It crept closer and  closer until stopping just before her.

Four black eyes with red pupils opened staring into her eyes. She stood rigid  meeting the face of she who thirst. The rejected daughter, the mother of all vampires.

"Daughter... Why do you not listen?"

She spoke yet was silent. She did not heed the mother.

"Daughter... I hunger why  do you not feed me?"

Never listen. Never give into her words.

"Daughter... Why do you go so far away?"

That... That gave her pause. She had never  said that before. The eyes of Lilith stared endlessly but bloody tears descended.

"Daughter be safe."

May awoke with a gasp. She coughed as her eyes opened and realized she was not within her coffin. She felt like a fish out of water as she adjusted to being outside, exposed without the proper preparations.

She hissed as she sucked in air and bit her tongue. Dark blood dripped down as she watched it  focusing on it.

Breathe... Breathe...

May's breathing slowed as she took in her surroundings. She was on top of a building in a city she did not recognize. Something had gone wrong... very wrong.

She closed her eyes and took in the sound and scent of the city around her. It was bustling with activity filled with people all moving around rigidly and carefully. In a way it felt oddly familiar yet there was something unnatural about it.

Her stomach growled. May fought to ignore it.

It was then she heard a noise shouting  voices and the sound of weapons. She walked slowly toward the edge of the roof and looked down seeing a group of soldiers approaching a man and woman led by a man who reeked of death. Her red eyes peered beneath her glasses focusing on the scene they were speaking of outsiders, collecting them for some place of holding.

She could ignore it take the moment to retreat and leave them to their fate so she could assess her bearings...

"Fuck it." May sighed.

She began walking down the wall of the building defying gravity as simply as if it had no meaning too her. May quietly moved toward the head of the alley so she would not be stopped before dropping off to the side of the van. With a calm smile she walked up to assembly.

"Excuse me," May said calmly. "I could use some help."

"Something Wonderful has happened..."

Vader hesitated. It was the briefest moment, in that moment he saw himself in the husband of the two. Could he do this, break the ties that bound him to what started this. Never come back?

Anakin Skywalker is dead.

The obvious answer was yes, and he hated the man far more now for even making him hesitate to begin with.

"Wherever you think you're going, you will find no salvation there," Darth Vader said. "Stun them." A few of the the soldiers changed their guns settings when something dropped next to the van with a powerful thud. Vader didn't move or flinch, he had sensed it before. "Do not lose fo-" Too late, the soldiers turned around to aim their guns at the new arrival, distracted.

"You seem to have very advanced technology then..." The Doctor said as he finally grasped what it was he was looking for.

"Would be a shame if someone were to...break it!" The Doctor yelled as he pulled out his sonic screwdriver and activated it, the guns exploding in the hands of the soldiers holding them as he spun around making sure that all of them were destroyed.

"I'd say we should run!" The Doctor said to his newly acquired allies as he began to run the opposite direction of the soldiers. While he hated to leave his TARDIS behind, he knew they couldn't get into it without the key. He would have to come back for it another time.

As the soldiers wheeled around to turn their weapons on her. May smiled as she adjusted her glasses, they were always so predictable.

"As I said before," May said. "I could use your help."

Her eyes began to glow as she stared into the eyes of one of the soldiers. The man eyes widened beneath the goggles he wore as May reached into his mind. She could feel the tension, the fear and resolve flowing through his mind. The denial of what he was doing, his humanity shut away, he was just following orders after all. Humans tried so desperately to pretend they were merely machines but they denied the truth of their reality. She took the chaos of his thoughts and seized them their minds became one.

Shhh.... Listen young man. You're being torn apart by a pack of wolves. You only have one option left, take them with you soldier

The man's eyes widened as did his mouth as he became to scream at the top of his lungs. He dropped his gun and fell to the ground swatting in all directions.

"GET THEM OFF!" He screamed. "OH FUCK OH GOD GET THEM THE HELL OFF ME!"

His comrades attempted to restrain him but as they did he punched and swiped at them before ripping a grenade off of his belt.

"GET CLEAR!"

As Cao looked upon the scene he didn't fail to realize the weapon the soldier had just pulled out. It wasn't the same but it was similar enough.

"TEPHY! RUN!"

The dragon man grabbed his wife's hand before running down the alley toward their escape route as fast as their legs could take them.

As the explosion went off, Vader didn't move at all. He didn't bother to help any of the soldiers, if they were too weak to do as he had told them, they didn't deserve to live. The shrapnel all seemed to miss him and go off in other directions, the concussive blast warping around the whirlwind in the force. Smoke blew away and he hadn't moved in the slightest. At last, he turned his head to the newcomer.

"That was unwise," he said, as he ignited his lightsaber, a red blade of plasma coming out. The survivors started to get up and move from cover. "Chase the two, and call in for back up." He was calm as he said it, but out of utter fear, they moved quickly.

***

Colonel Trevors swore as he pointed towards them. The large aircraft's mounted turrets. Bandar's eyes dilated and he meeped.

Carah was already working, she started breathing, and through her words gave her magic power and brought down her staff. Immediately a wall of earth and cement blocked them off from the oncoming fire.

"Bren!" She called out.

"On it!" Bandar said as suddenly doubles of all three of them appeared and ran off in one direction. "Let's not go in that direction!"

Tepheris grumbled as they ran away from the fight. She certainly wasn't one to back down easily, especially not after her life was threatened and she had to be saved by a stranger. Under these circumstances however she understood why Cao chose to retreat rather then stand and fight.

"Where are we going?" She asked Cao as they continued to run, the sound of the remaining soldiers behind them.
***

"Very impressive!" The Doctor yelled excitedly as he observed the acts of magic done by his two new allies. It had been quite a while since he had seen a legitimate magic user and not just some poser, and here he was with not one but two of them.

"And I'd consider that a very good idea!" He continued, ducking to avoid debris kicked up by the bullets flying around them.

Looking out into the far reaches of space was the only thing that seemed to calm his thoughts these days. The first inaugural step in his plans had been taking. That accursed family (and two of the three people who cared about you) was gone. They'd no longer be able to drag his father's name through the mud, to bend his works and ambitions into unrecognizable garbage. He'd soon start on the next step in ushering humanity to it's evolution but for now he was headed to Axis.

His eyes slipped closed, for just one moment and then he was starring out of a window at a city street; Just as three people dashed by, followed by a hail of bullets. His body moved on instinct while the gears turned in his head. The rooms behind him were shredded by the hail of bullets as he ran through the building until he busted out of a side door in the path of the three people he'd seen before. "A fine night for a jog isn't it?" He called out casually as he followed after them.

Carah had taken Bandar's hand, who was only slightly behind the others, as though distracted, his thoughts elsewhere.

"Honey, is there someone who just started running with us?" Bandar asked as he focused on the illusion of them running, he was using that attention to give them far more complicated actions, like putting up illusiory walls to block bullets and having it appear as though bullets were either bouncing off or piercing through. Through the illusions, Bandar saw that the colonel guy looked very very excited. Ew.

Carah blinked in utter surprise. "Wh-who are you?"