and then they fell. [rakuen revolution opening post]

[utopiamods]

You're falling, and you can't remember why. It's a sickening feeling that makes your insides lurch; the darkness and the vertigo combine, and all you can think of is a story you heard once, somewhere.

Ah, I remember now. It's... a simple story that everyone knows. A legend of a Princess, the Demon Lord who kidnapped her, and the Knight who fought to save her. The Demon Lord had kidnapped the Princess countless times, but every time the Knight bested his challenges and rescued the Princess. No matter what tricks and ploys the Demon Lord used, the Knight would always triumph in the end. This was because--

The world tilts on its axis one last time, and the dream slips from your mind as easily as it arrived. A new voice intrudes on your sleep. Mechanical, monotonous.

"Next stop: Rakuen City. This train terminates here. The next stop is Rakuen. All change." The train rocks steadily as it winds its way through white drifts of now. Sunlight streams through the window, heating the air and making the seats almost uncomfortably warm. A puff of steam from the train winds its way lazily past the windows when the wind is right.

It's strangely difficult to shake off the sleep; the rhythm of the train seems to lull you back into slumber and the air is warm and heavy, making it hard to keep hold of a thought. Finally, though, the nausea settles, the last of the dream fades and you can take in your surroundings. And, perhaps more importantly, those around you in a similar state.

"We have arrived at Rakuen City. All passengers must leave the train. This train is terminating here. This is Rakuen."

Comments

[herplaceinthesun]

[Welp, she hasn't seen anyone that looked quite like that before. Obviously the thing to do is to . . . ooooh, there's a stain on his shirt, he must be holding out on food and she is starving. Starving!]

Do you have any left? There's gotta be something!

[sciioniic]

[blank stare]

[made extra blank by the fact that he's not actually staring at her, he's just sort of ... pointing his face in her direction.]

Uhh, what? Are you talking to me?

[herplaceinthesun]

[It'll catch up to her that he's sort of eyeless in a minute. Hopefully.]

Yeah, you with the stain on your shirt!

[sciioniic]

[blinks, unnecessarily]

... Oh. Right. [he lifts a hand to the stain in question, and grimaces a little.] Dude, that's my blood.

[herplaceinthesun]

[She grimaces, that sucks pretty hard. And since that means there's probably not any eating to be had for a while, she guesses she can talk.]

Your blood kind of looks like a condiment, it makes me hungry. But what happened?

[sciioniic]

I -

[... pause. Sollux frowns.]

I ... don't remember.

[herplaceinthesun]

I guess that's something we have in common then! The not remembering thing, not the bleeding thing. Aisha doesn't really do that much.

[She's way too upbeat-sounding for someone suffering from memory loss. Or for a kidnapping victim for that matter.]

So, where are you from? You don't look like anyone I've ever seen, especially with the not having eyes thing, but I guess you could be Corbinese. Do you have a metal shell around here somewhere?

[sciioniic]

Yeah, apparently that's usual for dream bubbles or something. At least, I think so. [he's really not sure, mind you. his experience of dream bubbles is not extensive. it certainly didn't really go quite like this the last time he was in one... he rubs his blood-damp fingers together and grimaces a little. he's not entirely sure he wants to remember how this happened, but he is, unsurprisingly, pretty curious.]

... And, uh, no. I'm from Alternia. I don't think that really matters any more, though.

[herplaceinthesun]

Dream bubbles? And you got beat up like that in one? Sounds more like someone's nightmare if you ask me! Dreams are supposed to be nice, like ruling the . . . [Yep, she doesn't know what she's trying to say. Fun.] well, you get my point.

Of course it matters! You have to be proud of where you're from! But I was right, I've never heard of that place before.

[sciioniic]

No, I got beat up before I went to sleep ... [he's just not sure how.] I meant you forget stuff in dream bubbles, and it sort of comes back ... once you work out what's going on ... [FROWN ... this doesn't really seem to fit that pattern! He shakes his head.] Whatever. Where are you from?

[herplaceinthesun]

Okay, I think I've got it. You got beat up, and fell in a dream bubble so you can't remember how you got beat up in first place. [That's as close as she's getting to whatever the truth is.]

I'm from . . . an empire. A really big Empire, and officially I'm Lady Aisha Clanclan, but I couldn't tell you what it was called. Maybe I fell in a dream bubble too. But Earth exists in my world, does it in yours?