=0==0==0==0==0=

*start 09/25/2001*
 *adding intro.bit 09/28/2001*

Okay... the following is purposeful bad writing. It will look like crap. It will 
seem disjointed -moreso than the main body (at least that's my intention). I've 
gotten 2 seals of "Ugh." on the first bit that was completed. The last bit is a 
tad more in line with the canon's style. I did try to regain the disjoint, but I 
think I only reacquired the bad grammar.

Prereader one is used to The Arc, and Prereader two has barely touched it IIRC. 
Only character he can recall is Joy - who makes no appearance herein. So with 
those two diverse minds giving similar reactions I can say with certainty that 
the crap I tried to write is the crap it's supposed to be. Spelling mistakes are 
the only thing that were not intended.

So if you wanna see what I think an actively REM Nightmare looks like... please 
continue reading. If you'd rather spare yourself this flashbacky nightmare 
sequence... then skip away. I don't mind.

 *finished intro.bit 09/28/2001 11:29 AM CDT*

=0==0==0==0==0==0==0==0==0==0=



                           Because I have nothing better to do Productions
                                     An Eldrick Tobin project
                              From "It makes sense in my head" Theater
                                        A story of The Arc

                                        Demons With Drama
                                           Track Two:

                                Chorus of Fate - Nightmare Symphony


The colors were swirling again. There was really no discernible pattern. No hints 
to where he would end up this time.

No reason to care either. He was quite literally going nowhere. And Everywhere. 
Puzzling how that can happen... and yet you have a destination that shouldn't be 
there. The saying goes,"Great we're in the middle of nowhere." Here and few 
places else the line holds new meaning.

It's not the swirling stew of washed up paint from a discarded piece of 
watercolor tossed away in irritation in a rainstorm. You'd also be wrong to say 
it's the walls of pencil erasings a poet discarded in their melancholy one deep 
dark night while cruising desperately for a muse through the alleys and bi ways 
of a town that didn't care who lived or died in it. Was it even the shredded 
pages of a manuscript printed and burned in effigy to get the demons of writers 
block to go away.

And like everything else here... it kind of was. Not in a sensible way but... 
what makes sense here? Certainly not the oft visited destination where things 
played in a loop that made a mobius strip only seem like the guts of a larger 
beast out to sup on your entrails while you fought even the gain the air to 
scream for the help you know is just in earshot looking for you.

A sudden stop and the view settles to a serene high school campus situated on a 
breathtaking island somewhere in the Japanese chain. However the similarities 
tended to end right there. While the campus seemed nice and sensible the fact it 
was now raining Rose Petals from a fortified castle high in the sky... that 
oddly enough had it's towers pointed toward the ground... it's outer balley's 
cobble stones leading off to clouds and sky... didn't fit in. The Students 
currently lounging about since it was lunch time didn't seem to even notice. 
Some spoke of the beautiful fall leaves littering the ground.

The truth was not available to their eyes. They wouldn't see the truth if it was 
mentioned to them. They needed to be jarred. Shocked. Broken from this view 
point. To have the shrouding veil of mists torn away, and the blinding light of 
truth shown down on them. Their world smashed and the pieces revealed as they 
were so that a better would could be made in it's place. A Revolution of Epic 
proportions. A Revolution that happens even now... sides taken... battles fought 
and won... and for the defeated... a removal from this scholarly life to the 
outright strife of continuous fantastic combat above... where often one is so 
shortly lived as to return from death there to life here before one's lunch 
would get cold.

What would you do on such a setting? Knowing any moment you'll find tests trying 
to place you on one side or the other... that soon after lead to you or your 
opponent becoming a spray of rose petals... that other students simply think are 
the autumn leaves of a new fall semester. What would you do? What WOULD you do?

Eldrick turned his head to the gibbering lips near his ear and said,"Oh get 
stuffed. I'm going to get something to eat!"

Several students looked up who were lounging near the tree Eldrick stood 
beneath,"Just talking to my impatient stomach," he waved and wandered off. That 
was enough to stave off inquiry. The other students hadn't even noticed he'd not 
been standing there moments before. It was like being in a big urban sprawl and 
getting mugged. Everyone watches... but doesn't move. They go about their lives 
again the second you're gone from sight after the mugger. Maybe someone thought 
to say or do something. MAYBE someone called the police. But otherwise it might 
as well have not happened. The items stolen might as well have been now horribly 
earned by the mugger with you, the muggee, having no recourse but to shrug and 
walk away.

Even lunch however sometimes must be denied, as a small broken body made itself 
known to Eld's perception and he suddenly broke to catch it. He didn't know why 
save that it looked like a bird which seemed to have been shot. That sort of 
thing could reach him, even when the only thing on his mind was the have lunch 
then curl up into a ball and pretend nothing around him was happening. Pretend 
he couldn't hear the screams and cries for help from above in the Castle. 
Pretend his locker wasn't filled daily with assignments placed there by 
classmates. Pretend the teachers didn't open the locker later and find the work 
completed and somehow in his hand writing.

Something here wanted his life to seem normal if a tad disturbed. Something 
wanted a reaction out of him. Something wanted him to do something... and it 
gave no hints as to what.

Attend Class? He always found some kind of exemption, and when he did make it in 
it was as light a breeze as one can have on an early March day. No point in him 
being in there.

No point in trying to do the work either. Looking at the page as one wrote or 
figured was pointless as when it was time to hand it in it was done, done well, 
and indistinguishable from one's own handwriting... regardless of personal level 
of completion. It all seemed like some warped game.

And if indeed this life was a game... the publisher must have gotten heavy 
praise for it's depth and emersion. Or been burned at the stake. Sometimes it's 
hard to tell the difference.

Rose petals for bedding, a cereal box cut just right, and a syringe full of 
water, were found at his feet as he caught carefully the bundle from the sky. 
Opening his hand he found the diminuitive body of what could only be a fairy. 
Her -as it was unfortunately easy to discern- wings battled and burned, she 
looked to have had an altercation with a dragon. Truth be known when Eld looked 
up a dragon was winging back towards the gates of the castle only to be shot by 
the arm cannon of some cybernetic man who himself lasted a brief moment before a 
centaur rode past him and sliced him from what looked to be nave to chaps.

Warily Eldrick looked around and much to anyone else's amazement he saw two 
students arrive in through the gates clad in different uniforms they came in 
maybe 20 feet before they were met by members from one or the other factions and 
handed rings. Standing Eld simply walked away clutching his barely breathing 
bundle to him and ignoring the gifts that had been laid out. It was a given that 
he ignored the workings at the gate.

"Let's get you some water," he said more to himself than to his charge. She was 
out cold and probably wouldn't hear a car engine revving in her ear. 
Unfortunately HE did as a classroom was crashed into by someone in a red 
convertible only to be driven away moments later with a new passenger. "Why 
doesn't anyone just say no?" he asked the air as he transfered the fairy to the 
crook of an arm to free it.

It could be the fact that it was too late once you were on campus anyway. Could 
be people didn't know they could say no. Could be stories of people who had said 
no... or the complete lack of intelligence on their whereabouts now.

He reached a fountain and ran water over a now free hand cleaning as best he 
could. Next on his agenda was to capture a bead of water on his pinky and place 
it on her chin. It coaxed her eyes open and she opened her mouth for a second 
proffered drop.

He found it amazing that she could focus on him. That and that she didn't drown 
from this unorthodox method of claiming water. Okay it's not that unorthodox... 
if you're a hampster or gerbil but fairies are known for drinking more than 
water. Parties that go on for days... laughing singing and dancing. Probably 
made it hard for Eld to grasp why one would be on campus... above or below.

Well save the cabbage fairies but they fortunately or not don't count. They turn 
into moths when you pay too much attention to them anyway. They also don't play 
the game. Exempt Status.

Many days seemed to go by. Seemed only because it was always midday. Class never 
ended here. You just went from one to the other and then rinced and repeated. 
The Majority of the students never noticed. And the one's who did... ended up 
with a lack of sleep that manifested in class until they forgot that time was 
skewed. Eld simply convinced himself he didn't NEED sleep.

Probably why along with his assignments there were invitations to this that the 
other and so forth. Some were obviously faction related. Others were banal 
enough. A few seemed like veiled tests so you'd find yourself on a faction.

Eldrick Tobin attended none. Even the most banal event could be a test. Well 
then there's always the fact he has as many social bones as a balloon full of 
water.

So anyway Eld was walking between classes with his new little amnesiatic friend -
aren't all new friends amnesia cases these days?- when the very heads of one of 
the factions approached him. All the pink haired student did was hold out their 
faction's Rose Signet. Of course Eld was familiar with their faction. He'd one 
time been in the Duelling Arena for them long ago when he'd been a freshman. 
He'd barely won... and saw his opponent turned into a rain of petals and had 
fled flinging his signet away over the seemingly endless drop.

Watching someone scream bloody death who'd just cheerily been shaking your hand 
minutes before and who was a great sport throughout the contest suddenly turn to 
petals can unnerve just about anyone. Eld was unhinged by it. Sure he rehinged 
later... and then unhinged again when his opponent was suddenly a new student 
walking in the gate.

Nice Place this school eh?

Eldrick made sure to study something besides the gibbering lips at his ear or 
the pinkette before him,"Hungry?" he asked.

"Yes!" was his response from the fairy.

And so they hit the cafeteria. Leaving the darkly pupiled pinkette and her dark 
skinned darkly pupiled purple haired friend behind.

Of course the cafeteria was a rampant testing zone. Rings were often handed out 
by the cleaning staff there as they picked up student's trays or other refuse. 
Mostly the lower level factions but occassionaly the Big Players would hand out 
theirs. Feel insulted by someone... take them to the arena... oh and don't 
forget this ring... you'll note it's the opposite of theirs. Got Short changed 
by the student working the register... duel'em... here's a ring arena's that 
way.

Almost all grievances were settled that way. Eld maintained a strong deaf dumb 
and blind routine to all this. It was the only way to not become affiliated. 
Last time he had he found a Black Signet on his finger and another person 
turning to petals standing in front of him. Unhinge. Rehinge. Unhinge.

And avoiding factions by leaping out of their blue, gold, or red cars was kinda 
painful too. But the game was like a giant martial arts competition where the 
next match was damned near mandatory. Mr. Tobin still had scars from ending his 
last fight early.

These he was now studying as he held up his left hand with a full handful of 
grapes in it. The Fairy was curious and so asked him about the wounding of his 
palm. "I'd like to say it was something morally wrong like being caught outside 
the women's showers and accidentally grabbign ahold of the rose bush by the 
window there... but it's not. Haven't been caught at that yet."

She giggled.

"No... this was losing in the arena by my own hand."

"How?"

"I came to meer seconds before I'd have won the match. I'd seen this opponent 
before. Cool guy. Kinda guy who let's you get back up if you fall over when 
sparing even if the rules are "no holds barred." Realized I was about to send 
him screaming onto the Castle... and I spun away narrowly missing his rose and 
crunched my Black Rose with my left hand. I lost but didn't get sent to the 
Castle. No one knows why. No one but me seems to care."

"I care. It looks dangerous up there."

"Careful. Rings arrive for both the cataclysmic and the trivial."

"There is that."

He smiled. She smiled. They got up before a car crashed into their table. The 
Lavenderette at the wheel snapped his fingers and leapt off his hood and found 
another worthy subject. He was pretty he was suave he was annoyed at a girl 
having spilled tea on his fine brown pants. o/~ Off they went a Duelling o/~

In the ensuing 'weeks' Human told Fairy about avoidance of gifts. How 
assignments couldn't not be done. And were impossible to not accept,"It's 
annoying. I've been hanging onto the possiblity of getting kicked out for bad 
grades for a while. The Teachers think I like faking either near blank pages or 
saying I'm not done."

"I think I remember failing at something."

He blinked,"Well again it's been my strategy for a while now. If I tried to 
succeed I don't know what would happen. Rather not find out."

"So you'll coast?"

"Yep."

"But you shouldn't do that."

"I know."

"Headache!"

"Sorry."

"If I were a little bigger I'd swat you!" She stuck her tongue out. "Need the 
little fairy's room."

"I'll guard the door to make sure some ring pusher doesn't try to get in."

"And what if some girl needs to go?"

"I try not to think about such things."

"Such things being the other students?"

"Pretty much."

"Downer."

"Pretty much."

"Oh the bopping I'd give you!"

The smell of fine leather and microfiche wafted in on a breeze.

"Smells like a library! Yay! Books! Precious Text!"

A voice spoke,"Aa. I thank you for your praise of the writtn word. Would you 
like to come to my seminar to discuss this?"

"Seminar is a faction things isn't it? I just wanna bop him. Not DUEL him. No 4 
letter words here."

"Perhaps some other time," the light pink haird man turned to Eld,"And would you 
like to try the seminar again?"

"I lost. Bugger off."

"Aa," and with that the gold car drove off taking it's occupants away with it.

The Fairy looked at Eld,"Wow. Another Headliner talked to you."

"Shouldn't be impressed. I don't think that was him anyway. You can tell by the 
eyes."

"What about them?"

"The black dots... most of the students don't have them. Something must be up. 
But I don't wanna know what."

"You have pupils."

"You don't."

"Oh... oh! You think something's amiss about them because only those heavily in 
the know have them?"

"You know alot. And you don't"

"But I don't remember anything before meeting you. So I don't have... The Angle. 
Just information. No matrix to apply it to. The Spell does nothing."

"There is that."

"Maybe one day I'll have creepy pupils," she smiled,"But I don't hunt that day 
down like a rogue grape ready to be pounced on."

He smiled,"Well that bladder has space but let's not push it."

And verily he did guard the door to the stall itself. Stoically too. Eyes closed 
and breathing calmly. 3 girls told him to leave and he just stated his purpose. 
One challenged him to a Duel. He proclaimed her victory. A Teacher with darkish 
eyes tried to weasel him into a stall. He ignored her, but kept his pants on. 
She was in on the game... just didn't know details. She was sent. No room for 
spies and all that so she was callously brushed off.

Maybe she'd just been a gift... maybe she'd been planted. Eld had no room to 
care. He basically cared only for the lil Fairy's well being and staying out of 
the game. Which meant he was in the game pretty thick.

"Can it."

"I'll be done in a few minutes."

"Oh didn't mean you. Take your time."

"Are you oogling the girls?"

"No."

Came the shocked reply,"Why not?"

"It's probably all just a game test... there is the obvious "Caution MALE 
inside." sign on the door to this place... so this is all a test."

"Riiiiight. Not even looking a little?"

"Nope."

"Wow. Pants are dead then?"

"I'm simply waiting for something better to come along."

"Oh."

There was a mild janging within the stall. It didn't seem like more than the 
Pixified One trying to get the chain to pull. Eld continued barring the door. 
The act of which was starting to draw a crowd. Guys were even coming in to see 
what was up.

Rigth when Eld was about to turn and knock, she knocked on the door,"Lemme out 
now. I'm done in here." He moved.

And out they went... the next few days nice and normal. Nothing out of the 
ordinary. Well... what's ordinary here? Hmm? Of course that's the thing. Nothing 
out of the ordinary. When many many things should be out of the ordinary. Oh 
sure... the homework and classwork did themselves. There were the obligatory 
gifts of food or money here and there... that only due to their being 2 mouths 
to feed did Eldrick accept. Of course gift food always made you drowsy. The girl 
with wing would succumb because she didn't not wanna sleep.

One day she even got him to give in and nap.

He woke to find her much more awake than he was. "Did someone approach?"

"Nope. I just got up early is all."

They fell into a routine of napping at lunch, given food or bought. One day upon 
waking Eld noticed her eyes had gotten darker. He sat bolt upright,"What 
happened to you?"

"I... took a few challenges for you."

"Oh no."

"But I won. I'm still here. And I only fought scum. Really. They're all already 
back as students too. So nothing's different."

"But you've..."

"Seen the game... again."

"Again?"

"I'm remembering my time before the castle. My long long time at the Castle. I'd 
had the perfect place to hide there. I realled that after the first Duel. And so 
I had the second. Years of my life are coming back to me!"

"Well... that's good."

"Yes. I think this was rigged this way too. But. To know again. And I've not 
been Dueling selfishly."

"That's goo... wait no that's really really bad!"

"But I've been Dueling for you..."

He couldn't stay panicked with that face all teary eyed. "Well at least you've 
only been Dueling scum. I gotta concentrate on that."

"Yep. Wanna know what goal I hold in my heart in the Arena? Ask me Ask me Ask 
me!"

"Endless supply of fruit."

"Too selfish. No. Guess again."

He was just about to guess again when a blue jeep rolled up,"Next Duel! He's a 
real creep! He can't tell some girl he's close to wants something more in their 
relationship."

"Grr! I must flex my fairy might, Eldy! I'll be back. Wait for me. W-chan! I'm 
ready! Gimme the Rose Vision Goggles!"

"Sure thing!" and the spritely one was tossed and subsequently put on her 
goggles.

"How do I look?"

Eld smiled,"Like an Aviatrix Extraordinaire."

She blushed,"Not in front of the Headliners, Eldy," she looked left and 
right,"Oh yeah you don't have a rose so I can't see you. Anyway! I'll be back 
soon."

"I shall endeavor to not move."

The jeep cutely beeped it's horn and off it tore 4 wheeled drive whirring. Eld 
heard the damnable bells chime,"Why must they ring so loudly?"

Well if they didn't ring so loud that your fillings ached your bowels loosened 
and your very skull pounded...

"Forget I asked."

A Voice near him said,"You forgot you'd asked for one? Here!" and a bag landed 
in Eld's lap. The pain was hard to ignore. It was HEAVY. It also clinked like 
metal. Never having gotten something like this he opened it out of curiousity.

Inside the bag was a set of Metal Chu-Chu ears. Needless to say... he blinked. 
Of course it wasn't needless. Nothing ever is here. Everything has a purpose.

Something Eld forgot as he put on the silly ears and called out,"Chu?" and 
smiled.

He wasn't smiling long.

*bit written before ends 09/25/2001*
*beginning new bit 09/28/2001*?

He found himself staring at a negative view of the world around him. Not of 
course that his view of the wordl could GET more negative but I'm sure you know 
what I mean. Of course if you don't then well you need to learn more about film 
and or graphics editing.

Eld looked sharply to the left and sneered at the mouth before his attention was 
untimely ripped behind him.

"How could you just STAND there?!"

Eld was perplexed,"Come again? Let what happen?"

The lady with a tail twitched it violently about behind her,"Over there by the 
fountain where you've been gawking!" She thurst an arm out finger extended. He 
dodged the near attack of finger and turned to look that way.

There in the fountain was a girl crying silently, and trying to surrepticiously 
bathe in it. "She's bathing... public indecency? Hard thing to complain about 
here."

"What did you do... black the event out in your mind? Idiot!" She moved to prod 
him with her finger and he got the heck out of dodge,"Well anyway those guys 
over there forced themselves on her."

He turned to face her,"Did it happen when I put on the hat?"

"What hat?"

"The one I'm wearing. I just popped it on a second ago. I didn't see anything."

"Don't try to play games with ME you're not wearing any hat..." she looked 
down,"Oh I see... I thought you meant your skull! They must have attacked her at 
your Orders so you could watch! I see how this is going! She's my best friend! 
Die!"

"Huh What?!" he looked down. His pants were unzipped, his trouser snake out and 
becondomed. He moved to zip up and got a good look at his hand in the process.
For one, he wore a ring. For another he was the wrong shade for his negative 
image. He had to be Asian.

Of course it was hard for him to think while dodging this way and that the 
Demongirl's now glowing attack finger. And the prickles of a rose on his chest 
as he swiveled about weren't helping as he knew he was bleeding from the 
friction. He needed time to stop and think. What was real and what was fake that 
he was seeing?

Her finger now appeared bladed, and all of a sudden his pants were done up. He 
also had a rapier in his ... left hand on a langiard. There would be no changing 
hands with the sword so firmly tied to his hand with that langiard. He could use 
it if he liked... his left wasn't useless, but his hand was screaming with pain 
oddly enough. He recalled to himself that it only hurt in the arena.

His mind pretty much shut down. He ducked and rolled ripping the langiard off 
letting the sword fall away as he rolled. Then as he wobbled to his feet still 
dizzy from the rolling He pried the ring off his finger and flung it at the 
onrushing angered female.

Reality reasserted itself. Well such that it could. Consider the location.

Eldrick found himself on the Dueling Platform. He could see the lines of 
Duellists in their factioned rows waiting to come up the stairs the last step 
and Duel. He could see the crennelations on the outer ring behind his 
opponent. Pulling the helmet from his head he saw even more truth. He fought not 
a pissed Demongirl... but a stunned Fairy.

A Fairy which now seemed on the verge of tears,"Eld? How is it you Eld?"

"What's going on here?!"

"You... beat me."

He suddenly looked down and saw the blossum of her tiny rose bruised on the 
ground... the ring having ripped it from her. He shooked his head tears 
streaming down his face,"But I wasn't near the arena... your opponent was some 
guy who couldn't see the forest for the trees."

The guy who tossed the bag on him spoke,"But that's you. She Dueled to keep YOU 
out of the arena. To make the PAIR of you happier, but... you're too dense to 
know," the rose petal count got seriously incremented," And now you've lost 
her."

Eld turned his head and there was simply a collection of petals falling from 
where she had been... and a tiny ting of a ring hitting the ground. He reached 
to grab it to have something of hers, but it became as motes of light and 
vanished. He looked to her team captain. She was in tears both from a new 
defeat, and from what had happened Eld surmised.

A hand touched his shoulder firmly but with a feeling of warmth,"Come on. You 
shouldn't give him room to gloat. He looks ready to burst out laughing."

There was a shout,"You Disgrace! Tricking people like so, and with MY face!" And 
the two Greenhaired Pretty Boys declared and accepted challenge to the chime of 
the bells. Their teams glaring at each other in identical manner as their 
captains were 2 sides expressed of one man.

Eldrick's former team patted his shoulder as he passed down the stairs with the 
Team Captain. He looked over at her,"Thanks for the sympathy."

The pinkette forced a smile,"Anytime."

He held his hand out, and she looked away. The dark skinned girl with purple 
hair handed him back his old ring,"You shouldn't wear it though."

"Not wearing it got me into this mess. Got the game to turn on me," he grew 
quiet,"I think I'll continue downstairs alone," and they stopped following. Or 
rather they continued down passed him as they quickened their pace.

Reaching the bottom he saw them reaching out to hand over a ring to someone. 
Eld was beside himself. Bad reference. The universe doesn't need two of him. But 
he was struck dumb as he saw a familiar face.

"Gala! You're Alive!"

And she screamed.

BACK IN THE WAKING WORLD

"That nightmare again?" a soothing voice said in the moonlit room.

"Yeah. Same one every night. Still has that new bit on it," he replied.

"At least it's not the earlier duels anymore. You'd scream so."

"Not that having it look like the film real snapped is all that much better."

"True. Well... try to get some sleep. Big day tomorrow."

And he closed his eyes and found the beginning of the 'tape' ready and waiting 
for him. Fortunately morning dawned right before the fairy would have flown off 
for that final duel... not that that makes for a happy ending either.

*end 09/28/2001 11:20am CDT*

=0==0==0==0==0==0==0==0==0==0=

                                        "Cast" Addendums

=0==0==0==0==0=